Brightest Nights or Darkest Days
by Kittenshift17
Summary: When a blizzard strikes, Katara is torn from Appa's back and separated from her friends. Attempting to find them, she stumbles across Zuko, similarly separated from Iroh and searching for his Uncle or the Avatar – whichever comes first. Pairing up looks like the only option, but what effect will such close contact between two enemies have in the long run? Zutara.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: So, I haven't tried writing this fandom before, but I adore Zutara, so here goes. I hope you like it. Much love! xx-Kitten.**

* * *

 **Brightest Nights or Darkest Days**

 _By Kittenshift17_

* * *

 **CHAPTER ONE**

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She'd happened upon him by chance. A pure coincidence that had proved entirely too beneficial. Three weeks past, Katara of the Southern Water Tribe had been separated from her brother Sokka, her best friend Avatar Aang, as well as Appa and Momo during the terrible blizzard that had ripped across the four nations with all the wrath of avenging spirits brought to life and seeking vengeance.

Katara had been thoroughly lost in the wind and snow. Unfamiliar with the territory she roamed on foot, confusing landmarks she remembered from the South Pole with those of her current surroundings. She'd been forced to steal clothing and supplies along the way – having lost all but the clothes on her back when she'd been torn from Appa's back amid the blizzard and hurled away in the wild winds and teeming snow that had ravaged the land.

She knew there had been something otherworldly about the blizzard that had descended upon the land. The Earth Kingdom was not a place where such heavy snows and wild storms blew. She'd had to make do with what little she had – and she didn't have much of anything at all. She'd stolen a small rucksack from the first house she'd found, stealing clothing, food and supplies from there while the family slept.

She hadn't taken enough to leave them short, but she'd taken what she needed. Despite being lost and alone with no real means to contact Aang or Sokka, and no clue where to begin looking for them, Katara had resorted to disguising herself. And she still felt surprisingly upbeat. She was at home amid the snow and the ice – even if she did get a little turned around a few times. A water bender's favourite place to be was surrounded by water – no matter the form it took.

And having grown up in the South Pole, the driving cold and fluffy flurries of snow felt like a little slice of home. She'd taken to wandering the towns near where she had landed, searching for some sign or whisper about the Avatar being in the area. And it was through this practice that Katara had begun to learn many valuable things. The first and foremost being that in addition to Aang being wanted by the fire nation, she and Sokka were also listed as wanted fugitives. When she'd first spotted the poster she had been quick to change her clothes from the tell-tale Water-Tribe blue to a dull and boring brown set she'd pinched from an abandoned home.

She had also learned that the blizzard was unnerving everyone – yet some rejoiced for it had temporarily stilled the wheels of war. Katara knew this because last week she'd been involved in an uprising in a town many miles back where the local benders had risen up and overthrown the suddenly cold-weakened Fire Nation soldiers. It seemed that while the benders burned hot enough to tolerate the chill, prolonged exposure to the driving cold and inability to access the heat of the sun was weakening even them.

Katara believed it to be Karmic justice. The very world fighting back against the Fire Nation that had so ravaged and pillaged the land and its people.

She had come upon the least likely of people whilst searching for her friends. In addition to learning that she and Sokka were Fire Nation fugitives, she had learned that Prince Zuko and his Uncle Iroh, were also wanted renegades. She had spent many long minutes studying the other wanted posters when she'd discovered them, reading the crimes of all. She knew there was someone masquerading as the Blue Spirit who was wanted for a long list of crimes, including freeing and kidnapping the Avatar. Katara remembered that Aang had mentioned being saved by a silent man in a blue spirit mask.

She had stumbled upon him by accident three days ago as she'd been stealing food, fishing for information on her friends and removing every Fire Nation wanted poster featuring her and Sokka that she could find. There was little point removing those of Aang. They'd been up too long and everyone knew the Fire Nation wanted the Avatar.

She'd taken to following him.

Zuko.

Her first thought when she'd spotted him had been anger, followed quickly by confusion. Like her, he was masquerading as someone else. He'd stolen Earth Kingdom clothing, as she had, and had even adopted a new name. He was calling himself Lee. And he was travelling alone. Katara suspected that much like her, he had been separated from his Uncle in the blizzard. She knew they'd been on Aang's trail again. She also knew that if there was ever anyone who had the ability to track down Aang, it was Zuko. He'd chased them clear across the world and back again.

She didn't know how he did it, but somehow he always found them. And she was relying on that ability and his willingness to do it again as she tailed him. At first, it had been curiosity and concern, fear of what havoc he might be wreaking. Then it had been her plan to use him to lead her to Aang. However, as she'd followed him, she'd learned some things about Prince Zuko that she'd never thought she might discover.

The first and most important thing being that he was the Blue Spirit. She knew because she'd watched him don the disguise before liberating several Earth Benders from a detention camp across the city. He'd been utterly ruthless against his own nation's guards, slicing and hacking at them with deadly precision, ending lives wherever he went. He never used his bending – clearly not wanting to give himself away – but she'd learned that in addition to being a determined, dedicated and powerful bender, he was also a weapons master. He wielded blades with as much precision as he wielded fire.

She was following him now, having entered the same tea shop he'd gone to and ordered herself a cup of jasmine tea with some coins she'd stolen from Fire Nation soldiers. It seemed he either really liked tea shops - though he always made a face whenever he ordered a pot of tea for himself - or he was searching for his uncle in the tea shops. Katara supposed that made sense. Tea shops were places where gossip was bandied about rather freely, and what she recalled learning about Iroh was that he was very fond of tea.

She knew he'd noticed her a time or two in the days she'd been following him. She'd played it off as them simply being two travellers searching for lost friends who happened to be travelling the same direction. He'd been suspicious enough the previous day that he'd made to confront her and Katara had been forced to slip inside a tavern and play at being interested in a man she met there to avoid him.

Currently Zuko was sipping tea and glaring around the tea shop with distaste. It wasn't a particularly pleasant shop and when she tasted her own tea she made a face over the disappointing flavour. The leaves were clearly old and stale – and the water to brew them only just tepid. She'd been watching Zuko closely enough that she'd seen him react to the tea the same way she had, before he'd very subtly breathed heat into the cup until it had begun to steam pleasantly.

She eyed him carefully from the confines of the thick hood she wore to disguise the tribal colouring of her skin and to protect herself from being spotted and recognised. A thick scarf wrapped around her throat, concealing the water-tribe necklace she wore and her hood concealed her long dark hair. As she watched, the sound of raucous laughter drew her attention and Katara looked in the direction of the entrance to see some fire nation soldiers entering the tea shop. They were all fire bending openly to combat the cold of the snow outside.

When they began moving around the shop with a wanted poster, asking people if they'd seen the Blue Spirit, Katara saw the way Zuko shook his head, his identity also concealed by a thick hood that guarded against anyone spotting and recognising the scar across the left side of his face. The guards moved on from him quickly and Katara disagreed to having seen the Blue Spirit before abandoning her tea and leaving the shop – as Zuko had just done.

She followed him leisurely, wandering the market place. She'd learned the hard way that it was easier to tail someone by blending in and seeming like you were meant to be somewhere, rather than skulking about and acting suspicious. More than once in the last few days Zuko had looked right at her, a frown of confusion wrinkling his brow but Katara had been doing a good job of making it look like she was meant to be wherever she was. She roamed the market place, watching him subtly ask people if they'd seen or heard of anyone else lost in the blizzard who might be looking for someone named Lee.

She'd learned his uncle was going by Mushi instead of Iroh, but everywhere he asked, no one had heard of anyone matching Iroh's description. Katara looked up as a rare ray of sunshine beamed through the clouds overhead as she tailed Zuko toward the edge of town. It was getting late in the afternoon and the sunshine was the first she'd seen in three weeks.

She wasn't the only one effected by its warmth. Katara bit her lip when she noticed the way, up ahead, Zuko tipped his head back, his eyes closing and his hood falling back as he practically absorbed the sunshine. Literally. She could almost see him soaking it in like a dawn-blooming flower opening under its tender rays. She knew the feeling. The moon had a similar effect on her when it was full, making her feel alive and vibrant. When it rained she also enjoyed the feeling of soaking up her element.

What Zuko didn't see, however, was the group of Fire Nation soldiers at the other end of the street. They'd stopped to bask in the late afternoon sunshine and were looking around suspiciously, clearly thinking that if the sun had that effect on them, it would also have that effect on any other fire benders in hiding. Which was surprisingly smart for soldiers, given that it was working on Zuko.

They started towards him slyly, shoving each other a little and Katara panicked. He couldn't be captured. She didn't at all like or trust Zuko, but she didn't want to see him captured and hauled off to the Fire Nation. Not when his own father – the Fire Lord – had issued a decree that he was wanted, dead or alive. They would kill him for sure, or he would be forced to massacre them in the street – which she suspected would be the more likely of the two. And that would make it much harder for her to trail him when he finally began looking for Aang rather than his uncle again.

Breaking into a jog, Katara hurried towards him.

"Lee!" she called, affecting an excited tone of voice as though she had just spotted him and was thrilled to see him.

His eyes jumped to her as she came closer and she saw him tense, frowning in surprise. Katara ran a little faster, being sure to keep her hood up to hide her own identity before those soldiers could get two for the price of one. When she reached him, Katara threw herself at Zuko, latching her arms up over his shoulders and letting her momentum propel her forwards, wrapping her legs around his lean hips.

"Don't do anything stupid or you'll get us both killed, Zuko! There are soldiers coming right at you!" she growled in his ear immediately, pressing the side of her face to the scarred side of his, her lips at his ear.

For his part, Zuko handled the situation well. She'd been half expecting he would fire bend at her or at the very least that he would pull a knife on her. Instead she felt him tense against her, his strong, lean form bracing to catch her and hold her up. His arms came up around her, clutching her to him painfully tight and Katara winced at the embrace as she felt him spin her a little, carrying her easily and pressing her into a nearby wall.

Peeking over his shoulder she could see the soldiers still eyeing him suspiciously and Katara resorted to desperate measures, pulling back from him a little, Katara brought her hand up to cover his scar, dragging at his hair to better hide the tell-tale red blemish. Without pausing to think about what she was doing beyond acting to survive and to throw suspicion off the two of them long enough that the soldiers would get bored and forget that Zuko might be a fire bender, Katara ducked her head and pressed her lips firmly to his.

Zuko tensed, his mouth hard and unresponsive against hers until she pulled a little more viciously on his hair and nipped at his bottom lip punishingly. Her eyes rolled behind closed lids when he suddenly leaned into her, kissing her back fiercely and pressing her into the wall harder. She'd positioned herself rather unfortunately so that his hard, lean body was pressed against the most intimate part of her, her legs tight around his waist, her ankles locked against his back.

When he nipped her lips in return, Katara gasped at the sensation and she realised what a mistake she'd made when his tongue darted into her mouth, tangling with hers in a way that ought to be illegal. Her heart was racing in her chest for fear of being discovered by the soldiers, fear of being attacked by Zuko, and horror with herself when she felt delicious heat pouring through her body, emanating from him like she'd stepped into a steam-room. His lips and tongue were hot against hers, warming her chilled face and making her ache just a bit with the sudden and startling difference in temperature.

Her pulse stuttered in her veins as she felt the strangest brush of something against her. Not against her skin. More like there was something brushing against her chi – her very essence. Something hot and unforgiving as it surged against her and completely enveloped her chi, wrapping as tightly around her as Zuko's arms were around her waist. She felt a quivering sense of utter terror and just the hinted tingle of wonder when she realised it was his essence. His chi enveloped her own essence, threatening to overwhelm it.

She didn't know which one of them it was that emitted the groan at the entirely intimate and slightly uncomfortable yet totally thrilling feel of their chi so entwined. All she knew was that it made her brain go fuzzy and she found herself kissing him not only to hide his identity and her own until the soldiers got bored, but also because it felt completely intoxicating.

Katara kept one hand tangled in his hair, securely concealing his scar until such time that the soldiers left and he could pull his hood back up. The skin of his scar was silky beneath her fingers and Katara felt him tense as she brushed her thumb over it, intrigued. He broke away from her lips with a sharp gasp and Katara hissed in a breath between her teeth when he nuzzled his warm face into her neck, exposing the flesh there before pressing little wet kisses to the skin.

"Are they gone?" she heard him ask and a chill slithered down her spine - despite his overwhelming heat - at the sound of his voice, tight and controlled and utterly devoid of any emotion but anger. She loathed that voice. Peeking through slitted eyelids, she nearly closed them again in horror when she saw that the wretched soldiers had stopped advancing and lost interest in questioning Zuko. They were focusing on something else.

"They're watching," she breathed. She was trying not to pant as a result of the way he nipped and kissed her throat like a hungry beast. She marvelled at his ability to make it appear and even feel like he was into it, whilst she could still feel how tense and tight his body was between her legs – coiled like a viper and ready to strike at any moment.

She felt her cheeks beginning to turn pink as a gust of heat caressed her skin when Zuko sighed out an annoyed breath. He nipped her throat hard enough to leave a mark. Almost as though to punish her for the ludicrous position he'd found himself in. As though she hadn't thrown herself at him to protect his identity and save his life. The soldiers were leering in their direction, nudging each other like stupid children and clearly finding amusement and twisted pleasure in the show she and Zuko were putting on. Katara felt like she was being ripped apart and put back together in the wrong ways, horrified with herself that she'd just kissed and was still snuggling the enemy but hating herself all the more for the fact that her body and her essence were reacting to his touch and his attentions favourably.

What was wrong with her? Had she lost her mind?

"Three feet to the left is an alley," she whispered, scanning their surroundings carefully through her eyelashes. She hardly dared open her eyes wide enough to see without being spotted for an imposter by the soldiers.

"You want me to take you in an alley?" Zuko sneered against her neck, pressing into her harder, one hand clenching in the fabric of her clothes. Katara's cheeks burned crimson at his wording and his smug, patronising, wickedly amused tone.

"I want to get out of their sight so I can run for it," she corrected him. She nuzzled her own face into his cheek under the pretence of returning his affections before she nipped his jaw harshly, causing him to twitch and buck against her slightly.

Unhooking her ankles from around him quickly, Katara lowered her legs back to the ground, standing on her tip toes a bit under the pretence of kissing him again. He'd begun to chuckle cruelly until she pressed her lips to his severely, pouring her disgust with herself and her annoyance with him – not to mention her hatred of him – into the second kiss. As she did so - her mind threatening to go blank and not care about anything but those licks of heat that seemed to emanate from him – Katara tangled her free hand into the front of his clothing and half dragged him around the corner and into the alley.

She heard a catcall from the street, the soldiers laughing and jeering now, sounding like they might follow to see more of the show. As soon as they rounded the corner and were out of sight, Katara jerked back from his lips, hissing at the unpleasant feeling of ripping her essence free of his own suffocating one.

"Run!" she commanded. She tugged sharply on the front of the travelling robes he wore before she made a break for it down the alley to the opening she could see at the far end through a little sliver of space.

It was too narrow for them both to fit through and the rest was a five foot wooden fence. She could hear Zuko pounding along the alley a step behind her and she realised she was going to have to water bend or jump the fence. And with the soldiers now shouting from the mouth of the alley and suspecting foul play, bending didn't seem wise. Her eyes zeroed in on a stack of wooden crates and she used them as her springboard, leaping onto them and using their added height to propel her over the fence.

Zuko followed right behind her and Katara had to crouch into a squat on the landing to keep from being hit by him as he sailed over her to land a few feet beyond her. Springing right back up, she glanced around quickly.

"This way," he growled. His voice sent another chill down her spine as he snagged her elbow before tearing off down the darkened street. He seemed to know where he was going and their running had drawn the attention of more soldiers, so Katara chose to simply follow him as he led a merry dance through the streets, stumping the soldiers and outwitting them.

As she leapt over another fence behind him, she was about to keep running but he spun as he landed and caught her before she could hit the ground. Katara cried out in surprise as he spun with her momentum before hauling her right through a small wooden door just next to the fence. He kicked it closed and used his fire bending to melt the metal lock shut before turning on her and slamming her into the wall in the dark and abandoned room.

"Who are you?" he snarled into her face. He curled his hand around her throat, pinning her by it.

In the other, he held a fireball threateningly, as though he would throw it at her if she didn't answer. She didn't at all doubt he would. He was a ruthless killer with little conscience. Despite the way her mind demanded she claw at the hand cutting off her air supply, Katara reached for her hood, meaning to lower it.

"You again!" he suddenly said before she could reveal her identity. "You've been following me. Who are you and how do you know who I am?"

Katara rolled her eyes at the cold fury in his voice before she lowered her hood away from her head, revealing her face and hair to his narrowed gold gaze. She stared back at him defiantly as he glared at her for a minute in complete silence, his features devoid of any expression but anger. She thought for a moment that he must not recognise her.

Until he suddenly took a big step back, freeing her throat to wipe the back of his hand against his mouth.

" _You_?" he cursed. "You kissed me! What is wrong with you, Katara?"

He looked revolted, wiping his hand against his mouth again before spitting on the floor.

"Gee Katara, thanks for saving my life even though I've been nothing but a selfish bastard who stalked you across the world and nearly killed you and your friends in many unsuccessful attempts to capture the Avatar," she bit out sarcastically, glaring at him. "Yeah, no problem, Zuko."

He narrowed his eyes on her at the mention of his name and no doubt at her rudeness.

"Assaulting me does not count as saving my life, water bender!" he snapped. "What the hell are you doing here? Why were you following me?"

"Who said I was following you?" Katara countered. She stepped away from the wall where he'd pinned her and stalked off through the building he'd dragged her into. It was an abandoned house. Most of the furnishings and things had been looted, leaving it bare and devoid of much at all. Narrowing her eyes and wondering why he'd brought her there, Katara stomped through the place.

She smirked when she climbed some stairs – with Zuko, still snarling, on her heels – and found a small palette where he must've set up camp for the night. She'd yet to do so, having been following him most of the day. He'd escaped her for a little while when she slipped off to the bathroom, and this was clearly where he'd gone. She could tell they were his things because she'd been watching him long enough to recognise them.

"You _have_ been following me," he accused. "You're not exactly subtle. Where are your little friends? Where's the Avatar? And since when is it you stalking me and not the other way around?"

Katara smirked at him for his wording, watching him flick a ball of fire towards a small lamp by his things to light the room without needing to hold the fire himself. It was sealed closed against the cold wind outside – though she could hear it whistling through the small cracks in the window frames. He'd chosen what seemed to be an abandoned study, rather than one of the bedrooms, and it had no windows. She frowned at the idea. Windows would make for an easier escape, but then again, the building was abandoned and he was a strong fighter. Maybe if he was ambushed he meant to fight his way out – avoiding detection by hiding somewhere that no one would see the light of his fire.

"If I lack subtlety so much, you'd have known it was me and you'd know why I've been following you," she informed him. She moved over near the lamp he'd lit before sitting down on the ground and taking out her rucksack – which she'd taken to wearing against her skin under her clothes for better warmth.

She caught the way Zuko's eyes widened momentarily as she lifted her many layers of clothes to get at the meagre bag of supplies. He narrowed them on her again at her evasiveness.

"Answer me," he commanded.

"I'm doing the same thing you're doing," Katara shrugged. "Trying to find my travelling companions after being separated from them in that blizzard a few weeks ago. We were on Appa when it struck and I was blown free of his saddle."

Zuko curled his lip.

"Then why are you following me?" he asked. "Shouldn't you be trying to find them?"

"I am trying to find them," she replied. "And so are you. And since you managed to track us while we rode a flying bison all the way across the world and back again, I knew that if anyone could find Aang, it would be you. I intended to merely follow you in your search for them and your uncle until they were found."

"Then do tell what you were doing ambushing me and kissing me," he demanded. He looked like he didn't know if he should be flattered by her belief in his ability to find Aang or disgusted with her for changing her plans and kissing him instead.

"The sun came out and you were like a Morning Glory, soaking up its rays in plain sight. Your hood fell back and those stupid soldiers saw." Katara shrugged. "And you're no use to me dead or imprisoned…. It's not like I know much about tracking the Avatar. Usually I'm one of the ones being tracked. I just reacted."

"By kissing me?" he asked,

"Oh for crying out loud, would you stop saying it?!" Katara lost her temper with him. "I didn't think about what I would do after calling out to you and I knew if I didn't do something, you'd throw me off you and demand to know who I was, drawing the attention of those idiots all the more. A random case of mistaken identity and subsequent fight is more noticeable and memorable than two teenagers kissing in an alley."

He narrowed his eyes on her but didn't say anything else and Katara turned her attention to digging into her rucksack for something to eat. She had a bag of dried fruits and nuts and she hadn't eaten in hours. She was also shivering. Her body seemed to be going into a mild state of shock after being pressed against - practically enveloped by - someone so warm and it had thrown her body temperature out of whack.

Zuko watched her a minute longer as she began to eat her food before he started muttering under his breath too low for her to hear. He threw himself down on the palette he'd set up earlier and began rummaging in his pockets for some of the food she'd seen him buying. A strip of jerky was all he pulled out and Katara watched him as he began to chew on one end of it.

The silence between them was strained and awkward as they ate. Katara found herself huddling closer to the lamp he'd lit, trying to absorb some of its warmth. She nearly leapt out of her skin when Zuko nudged her with his foot.

"Hey!" she hissed. She looked up, worried he was being mean. The angry words she'd been poised to spit died on her tongue when he handed her a strip of jerky. "Oh… um… thanks, I guess."

She offered him the bag of fruit and nuts she was eating from in return, figuring he must only be offering her some of his food if he wanted some of hers in return. He eyed the bag for a minute before cupping one hand, waiting for her to pour some of the snacks into it. He nodded when he wanted her to stop pouring, but still didn't speak again.

"I take it this means you've changed your plans about continuing to stalk me?" he said finally, after what felt like hours. The tension was thick in the air. Katara knew it stemmed from the awkwardness of the searing kisses they'd shared in the alley and the burning hatred between them from their past.

"Why bother pretending that I'm not following you now that you know I am?" she shrugged. "I haven't changed my mind about you being able to lead me to Aang – just about whether or not I'll have to interact with you while you do it."

He glared at her.

"What makes you think I'm just going to lead you to the Avatar? Or that I'll let you tag along with me?" he demanded. Katara watched as he dug into his bag and withdrew a battered looking teapot and two cups.

He took the lid off the pot and held it out towards her. Katara realised he didn't have any water to put in it and she narrowed her eyes before summoning her bending power to draw some of the heavy snow from outside in through the house to fill the pot.

"What makes you think I won't just follow you and turn up all the time annoying you if you try to stop me?" Katara countered. She handed the teapot back to him when it was filled with water. She was grateful when he took it without a word before withdrawing a small box of tea from his bag and putting some of the leaves in the water. He replaced the lid and held the pot by the handle before using the closed fist of his other hand to fire bend a steady flame to the bottom of the metal until it began to whistle, indicating that it was boiled.

"I can take you in a fight, Water Bender," he reminded her. "And I'm not afraid to hurt you."

"But you won't," she said knowingly. She took the cup he poured for her, curling her hands around it greedily and soaking as much of the heat as she could into her skin.

"Nothing has ever stopped me before," he said as he sipped his own tea. He still looked like he didn't like it very much. In fact, she got the feeling he only drank it for the warmth it provided and the familiarity of sharing a pot of tea while in company.

"No, but without your uncle around, you're just as on edge and lonely as I am without Sokka and Aang," Katara said quietly. "It makes sense to travel together until we find them."

"And if I find my Uncle first?" he asked.

"Your uncle isn't a ruthless killer with no conscience and he wouldn't hand me over to the Fire Nation. Besides, it's not like _you_ could do hand me over to collect the reward for my capture. And it's not like finding him would change your goal to find Aang."

"You'd stick around?" He snorted. "But I bet that if I found the Avatar first, you'd probably freeze me to the floor and leave me for dead. Sounds like you need me but I don't need you for anything… and in case you've forgotten, my uncle might not be ruthless and without conscience, but I am."

"I'm not scared of you, Zuko." Katara rolled her eyes at him.

She nearly had a heart attack when he suddenly lunged at her, tackling her across the floor.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: I'm so overwhelmed that so many of you have a taken a shine to this one. Thanks ever so much for all your kind words of the first chapter. I know I left you on a cliffhanger, so I wanted to make sure you didn't hang too long. I hope you love this chapter just as much. Much love! xx-Kitten.**

* * *

 **Brightest Nights and Darkest Days**

 _By Kittenshift17_

* * *

 **CHAPTER TWO**

* * *

She grappled with him across the floor, rolling and cursing when she hit her elbow at a bad angle. He tried to pin her but Katara bucked him off her before he could, flipping them furiously and pinning his wrists to the floor to prevent him from fire bending at her. She found herself straddling him, Zuko laid on his back on the dusty floor beneath her. She'd dropped her tea cup when he'd lunged at her, spilling her tea on the floor. And she was annoyed about it.

He didn't move beneath her, stilling just as suddenly as he'd attacked and Katara glared at him.

"What did you do that for…?" she snarled before uttering a shriek of surprise when he flipped them both until she was pinned beneath him, her legs now bent at an uncomfortable angle. He'd clearly waited for her to lower her guard just a bit before turning on her once more and Katara snarled at him in fury when she found herself thoroughly pinned beneath him this time, unable to budge at all.

Tendrils of fear whispered through her when she tried to fight him off her and couldn't. Due to the way she'd straddled him, he was now lying between her spread legs, her hips cradling his. He pinned her hands either side of her face and he trapped her bent knees against her ribs, pinning them there with his arms.

"What use are you to me if you can't even protect yourself from me?" he asked coldly. He glared into her face, his cold expression never changing. He simply looked angry and determined.

Katara heard the little whimper that left her as she scanned his face for some hint that he actually meant to hurt her. The warmth emitting from him didn't at all help her suddenly racing heart and Katara realised with a jolt that she'd stopped fighting.

"I've protected myself from you plenty of times," she argued.

"You've lost to me in a fight plenty of times," he corrected. Katara narrowed her eyes as she thought of the only time they'd actually battled one-on-one – at the North Pole. When he had bested her.

"You made me spill my tea," she accused. She was annoyed with him when she couldn't offer much rebuttal to his assertion. They often outwitted his plans for capturing them as a group, but in a hand-to-hand fight she knew he was stronger than her. She also knew that fighting him anymore now would just be a waste of energy.

"That's all you have to say?" he demanded. Katara could tell he was shocked she wasn't trying to buck him off of her or demanding to be released. The truth was that as unnerving as it was to be staring into his scarred, angry face and as unsettled as she was by the feel of his essence brushing against her and the way his body pressed against hers, she didn't really want him to move.

He was so warm and she was still shivering with cold in the freezing room.

"What were you hoping for?" she asked rather than answering his question.

He narrowed his eyes at her, clearly confused by her lack of anger and lack of indignation over being held down so intimately. Honestly, Katara was too busy soaking up his warmth to care about insisting he move or anything else. The cold had been draining her energy and she'd been running around all day – travelling between towns and trying to locate her friends. She was tired and she wouldn't mind just closing her eyes and going to sleep. It was only early, but Katara hadn't slept well since she'd lost her friends.

Being a fugitive, not to mention a young woman travelling alone, had made her wary and she woke at the slightest sounds. It wasn't as though she had enough money to stop at hotels along the way, so mostly – like Zuko – she'd been sleeping in abandoned buildings where she could be out of the snow. Zuko might have spent almost all of the journey since the North Pole chasing her and hunting her – moving as her enemy – but at least he was familiar in a world full of strangers.

"Aren't you going to demand that I get off you?" he asked. He seemed slightly confused by her answers.

"Would my demanding it make you do it?" she wanted to know, answering his questions with questions.

"No," he replied, smirking coldly.

"Then why would I waste my breath?" she asked. "You'll get off me when you're ready. Or you won't. Either way until you do, you're warm and I'm cold."

"Oh, so you're not trembling in fear of me?" he sneered. Katara rolled her eyes.

If she was being completely honest, the truth was that Zuko did scare her a little. He was so angry, so volatile and so ruthless that he unnerved her. She also didn't particularly trust him but she did think that he wasn't going to hurt her unless he had to. From what she'd seen, despite his ruthlessness, Prince Zuko had to work at being a heartless monster. He had to make an effort to be so uncaring and cold. He wouldn't just hurt her for the sake of it. At least, she really hoped he wouldn't.

"I already told you that I'm not scared of you," she rolled her eyes. "I'm just cold."

Narrowing his eyes at her even more, Zuko looked like he didn't know what to make of her. He obviously wasn't used to dealing with a water bender. Katara might've been known for her moments when she lost her temper about something, but like the element she wielded, she was good at going with the flow when it suited her. And if going with the flow with Zuko meant stumping him with her less than furious attitude over being bested and her denial of her fear that suited Katara just fine.

Frowning at her in annoyance, Zuko released her wrists before getting off her. He didn't offer to help her to her feet before he walked back across the room to where he'd left his cup and she narrowed her eyes at him when he used his bending to re-heat his tea. He did the same to the pot and Katara used her bending to pour herself a fresh cup of tea as she moved back to where she'd been sitting, this time digging out the sleeping bag she'd stolen and spreading it out.

She was still shivering as she climbed into in, grateful for the added protection against the cold. She could feel Zuko watching her as she fussed about, settling into her sleeping bag more fully, for the time being only using it to cover her legs and wrap around her waist while she was still sitting up to finish her meal and drink her tea. Katara knew it was still somewhat light outside, but in the windowless room it was dark enough that she could sleep. Even with Zuko's lamp still burning.

She didn't dare to look at him when she settled herself more comfortably, still sipping her tea. She looked at her own hands, watching the tea in her cup as wisps of steam curled from it in the cold room. The sound of his footsteps drew her attention and Katara frowned when she saw him going to the door.

The idea made her uncomfortable. She didn't at all approve of the notion of being trapped alone in the confined room with him. Especially with the door closed. She knew they wouldn't suffocate – there were cracks around the door that allowed plenty of air through. She also knew that having it closed would better heat the space and keep the chilled wind out. But the idea of being so confined with Prince Zuko made Katara nervous.

Like a sleeping dragon, he could turn on her, spewing fire over her at any time. There was also the added tension that she suspected came from the way his essence and hers seemed to call out to each other. She didn't understand that at all. She'd never heard of it happening with anyone else. Sokka was a non-bender and her brother, so she'd never felt her chi wrap around him. And Aang was the Avatar. Even when she hugged him, she never noticed anything like what had happened when she'd been trapped in Zuko's embrace and kissing his lips.

She hadn't spent any time with any other fire-benders either, so she didn't know if it was something unique to fire benders or if it was just Zuko. It unnerved her. Mostly because it felt amazing. She didn't think she'd ever been so warm. The feel of his essence cloaking hers was nothing she could really described. She'd been burned before and it didn't really feel like that… she supposed it did, only without the pain of a burn. It felt more like sinking into a hot bathtub full of water or like that mild tickling sensation of heat just before a burn.

And the fact that it was so cold amid the wild snowstorms ravaging the land meant that the amount of heat he gave off was addictive.

Katara bit her lip on her protests as he closed the door, sealing the two of them inside with only the small, solitary lamp he carried as a light source. The diminutive lamp cast wild shadows on the walls and across his face as he stalked back across the room to where he'd set up his palette for the night. The confined space – no more than two meters squared worth of room – felt stifling as he stood for a moment. Katara watched with trepidation as he pulled his travelling cloak off himself and laid it next to his palette before he climbed inside his own sleeping bag.

How he could even think about removing layers evaded her, though she knew she ought to as well. If she went to sleep now with her parka still on, she would shiver through the whole day tomorrow without being wrapped in the warmth of her sleeping bag. She knew it, but she was so cold that she was loathe to do it. Biting her lip, Katara drained her tea cup and set it aside before she copied him, wriggling around until she could remove her parka. She laid it over her rucksack and squirmed about until she was stretched out on her stomach, wrapped completely in her sleeping bag and reaching for the parka, which she folded up to use as a pillow.

Katara laid on the far side of the lamp, and she turned her face to look past it to where Zuko now lay in his own sleeping bag. He lay on his back with one arm folded behind his head and his eyes were closed. She lay on his left-hand side and Katara felt her fingers begin to itch as she stared at the sight of the angry red scar that covered his left cheek, his left eye and slashed across his forehead all the way back to mangle his left ear as well. Part of her itched with the need to try to heal the old wound. Another part recalled the silky feel of the blemish beneath her fingers when she'd been kissing him and hiding the mark.

She blinked when he suddenly opened his eye to glare at her, catching her staring and making Katara blush. Despite feeling awkward about being caught, she didn't look away from him. She suspected that would just make him angry, thinking she was staring at his scar and judging or pitying him. He glared at her for a moment longer before he jerked his arm from beneath his head and flicked his wrist, sucking the fire from the lamp between them. Katara watched with just the tiniest bit of awe as he let the flame dance over his long fingers before he seemed to suck the fire right back into himself and cast the room into darkness.

 **~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~**

The darkness was worse, Zuko decided as he lay tense and on edge in the blackened room with Katara two feet away from him. The tension was thick and stifling in the small, dark room and he despised it. This was her fault. If she'd never been following him, he'd never have ended up having to spend the night with her.

If he were to be completely honest, the sight of her had actually made him feel better. He'd noticed the young woman tailing him almost immediately when she'd begun following him three days ago. For a time he'd thought it coincidence; that she was just a traveller moving in the same direction as him. He'd grown steadily more convinced that wasn't the case, however, when she seemed to follow him everywhere he went.

The fact that his stalker had turned out to be the Avatar's girlfriend was actually a relief. A relief and an annoyance and a balm all in one. He didn't do very well being alone for long periods of time and he'd been alone for weeks as he tried to locate his uncle. The fact was that he was a stranger in an unfamiliar and hostile land where the Fire Nation loathed him for being the wanted, disgraced and exiled son of the Fire Lord and the rest of the world feared or loathed him for being the Prince of the Fire Nation.

He didn't like to think about the fact that he'd shared food and tea with Katara with as much ease as he might've with his uncle. He especially didn't like to think about the way it had felt when he'd suddenly found himself with her arms and legs wrapped tightly around him, her warm breath by his ear and then her lips on his. Even when he'd had no clue who she was as she clung to him and kissed him, Zuko had felt something inside him roar to life – wakening and wrapping around her possessively. He'd never felt anything like it before in all his life. He knew it had been their chi brushing together and it had entirely unnerved him.

He didn't like how it had felt like she was a soothing drink of cool water after a long, hard day of training or walking. He didn't like the way her lips had felt against his or the way her tongue had been like silk against his own. Damn it all to the fieriest pits of hell, she was the enemy! He'd hunted her across the world. He wasn't supposed to be pleased to see her and his essence wasn't supposed to call out to her like it was.

As he laid there in the darkened room, he could literally feel the tremors and shivers running through her. She was clearly freezing. The irony that she was from the South Pole and yet was still cold was no lost on him, but it did call into sharp focus his own problem. The few rays of sunshine that had peeked through the snow clouds had warmed and revived him somewhat, but he knew he was weakening. Fire benders could tolerate the cold better than most, but it sapped away his strength. And the lack of sunlight depleted his ability to fire bend.

Unlike the other elements, fire had to be created. It was the reason fire benders were the most powerful. The other three nations did their bending by manipulating elements already at their disposal. Air and Earth Benders had their element right at their fingertips all the time. Water benders had it slightly harder and most – like Katara – carried a canteen to use to bend when they needed it. Though Zuko also knew that water benders could call on the water in all living things to bend if they wished.

If she wanted to, Katara could rip the life-giving water from the grass and the trees to use if she so chose. But not fire benders. Fire benders had to work harder, had to be stronger and had to have more endurance than the other benders because they had to create their own element. Every time he used fire bending, he had to call upon his own essence – his own strength – to create the element he wielded with deadly precision.

And every time he did, it left him a little weaker. The sun tended to revitalise him, but it had been so scarce for weeks now that he was running low on reserves. He might be warm enough to get by – but he could use something to boost his power back up. And without access to the sun, the only other way to do so was to not have to entirely warm his own body for a little while.

The trouble was, Zuko didn't like to be touched. In fact, he hated it. Not to mention that he didn't really know anyone well enough to want to touch them for any purpose other than to hurt them. Kissing Katara was the closest he'd come to any form of non-combative contact with another human being in a very long time. Iroh might at times clap him on the shoulder or guide him through a new set of bending moves, but that tended to be the extent of his contact with other people.

The idea of touching Katara again repulsed and intrigued him in equal measure. And it was making the strained energy between them all the tenser. He could practically feel that tension pushing against his skin like a thick and stifling humidity. The chill in the room was sapping his strength despite his higher-than-average body temperature and Katara's teeth had begun to chatter with cold.

Closing his eyes, Zuko tried to ignore the urge to end the tension and put a stop to her shivering. He didn't want to lay another finger on her. Not really. He was just cold and tired and she was familiar. At least, as familiar as one's enemy could be amid a town full of hostile strangers. He was loathe to admit that she most likely had saved his life when she'd ambushed him and kissed him in the street. He'd been so tired and so cold that the feel of the sun had called to him with too much fervour for him to deny.

When his hood had fallen back, revealing his scar and thus his identity, Zuko had barely noticed. The fact was he was dangerously low on reserves of warmth and pretty soon he was going to lose his ability to bend effectively. Oh, he would still be able to create fire – he could do that with his dying breath – but the effects manifesting it had on his body would begin to show. Even boiling the water for the tea he'd shared with her had sapped his energy.

He hadn't even wanted a cup of tea. He'd just spent too long with Uncle Iroh and so had made tea out of habit more than need or even any want to consume the liquid. Zuko listened in the tense silence of the room as Katara began to shift about, trying to get warm and trying to get comfortable. Zuko knew the feeling. Now that he was sitting still, even inside his sleeping bag, he could feel the insidious creep of the cold ghosting over his body and sapping more of his strength.

He should have stolen some coins and paid for a hotel room. He'd thought about it. He just hadn't wanted to bother. Searching for his uncle was proving as difficult as searching for the Avatar had been when he'd first been exiled. There was not even a whisper of a clue that his uncle had passed through any of the towns Zuko was travelling through. He'd taken to asking after the Avatar too, just to try and get a reading on where he might be. Logically it made sense to Zuko that Iroh would head for Aang, thinking Zuko would be doing the same.

In fact, it might prove advantageous to have Katara tagging along with him. Her brother and the Avatar would undoubtedly be searching for her too. He'd seen how ridiculously loyal they all were to each other too many times to doubt that fact. Besides, even a tentative enemy was better company than his own.

Zuko didn't know how long he laid there in the dark and the cold of the room, the tense silence between them easing just a bit as she slipped towards slumber. Her breathing kept beginning to even out before it would hitch again in the dark – whether out of fear of him, fear of something else or just the terrible cold, Zuko didn't know. He was sure that the moon was high and the night deep when he finally lost patience with her incessantly chattering teeth.

Rolling onto his side, Zuko moved the lamp he carried with him out of the way between their two bedrolls – not even needing light to see it and move it.

"Hey!" Katara hissed. She went tense, immediately going on the offensive when he grabbed hold of the edge of her sleeping bag and dragged her, inside it, across the small space separating the two of them.

"Zuko? What are you doing?" she demanded, lowering her voice a bit when she recalled it was him. He could hear her suspicion and her annoyance – with just the slightest hint of fear in her tone. It suddenly occurred to him that she was even younger than his eighteen years and that she'd been travelling as a young woman, alone, for three weeks. She was probably fearful he was going to force himself on her.

No wonder she kept waking every few minutes. She was paranoid she'd be grabbed and taken advantage of.

He didn't answer her question as he hauled her closer. He was going to force himself on her, just not in the way she feared. He had no desire to deflower the fierce water tribe princess – he just wanted to borrow her body heat for a while.

"Zuko!" she hissed when he curled back the coverings of his sleeping bag before peeling hers open.

"I can warm you," was all he offered as an explanation. Unwilling to admit that he needed her heat as much as she needed his.

Katara squawked in surprised when Zuko dragged her right out of her bedroll and into his own, slotting her into the narrow space next to him.

"I don't want you to warm me," she was protesting. "I don't want you to touch me."

"And I don't want to listen to your teeth chatter all night as you shiver. Now, be quiet," he growled in response, annoyed by her disgusted tone. He hauled her sleeping bag over the two of them, flattening it out so it covered them both inside his.

When it was done, he seized her shoulders and nudged her with his knee until she was lying on her side with her back to him.

"Stop it, Zuko!" she snapped, struggling slightly.

"Oh, for crying out loud, Katara, I'm not trying to assault you. I'm try to keep us both warm enough that we don't die during the night!" Zuko snapped, losing his temper with her when she kept squirming as he tried to hold her still and so take full advantage of her warmth.

"By manhandling me in the dark and dragging me into your bedroll?" she demanded.

"Aren't you from the South Pole?" he demanded. He flicked his hair out of his eyes to glare at her. "Shouldn't you be used to the idea of sharing body heat?"

"Not with someone who's tried to kill me!" she retorted.

"Well, if you don't shut your mouth and hold still, I'm going to try again," he growled in annoyance. She elbowed him in the ribs in response. Zuko thought seriously about setting her on fire but before he could, he suddenly felt the brush of her essence against his.

She seemed to feel it too because she stopped struggling in his grip and laid still – if completely tense – beside him in the dark. Taking advantage of her stillness, Zuko looped his arm over her hip and she squirmed again when he began to burrow his hand under the layers of shirts she wore.

"What are you doing?" she demanded, her voice slightly breathless. Zuko wondered if it was out of fear or if his touch made her nervous. He didn't bother answering her when he finally managed to locate her skin beneath the many layers she wore.

Snaking his bare forearm up the front of her shirt, he pressed his warm skin against hers and he knew he didn't imagine it when a little morsel of sound escaped her at the warmth of his skin against hers. He knew because he'd most effectively quashed his own sound of pleasure at the feel of the warmth. She tensed when he slipped his hand a little higher, encountering the bindings she wore beneath her clothes to hold her feminine wiles in place.

Zuko made sure not to delve his hand under those, though he did shuffle until his wrist rested between the twin mounds adorning her chest and his palm was flat against her sternum. He snaked the other arm beneath her neck, bending it back until his hand was under his own head and his bicep was cushioning her cold cheek. He also spooned himself right up against her back, tangling his outer ankle between both of hers.

"This must be some horrid nightmare," she said when he finally stopped moving. Zuko could feel her rubbing her cool cheek against the warmth of his bare bicep muscle as though trying to absorb as much of his heat as she could. Ordinarily he might've minded the idea of her taking his body heat but almost immediately she began emitting much more of her own and he was taking full advantage of it.

The heat was glorious and it seeped into his skin like much needed relief. Slowly, despite their dislike for one another, Zuko felt her relax in his hold, the tension easing out of her muscles and leaving her soft and pliant in his arms. The feel of her feminine form so intimately pressed against him set him of edge but Zuko closed his eyes and did his best to block it out.

His unfamiliarity with being touched by anyone – let alone being pressed so closely against someone – wasn't enough to override the heat and the effect of having her pressed so close in the otherwise cold room. The fact that her chi was brushing tentatively against his own as a balm to the raging inferno beginning to stream back into him from her warmth was soothing to his fried nerve endings and Zuko let his eyes slowly close.

"Goodnight, Zuko," she whispered sleepily when he was almost asleep. Zuko didn't bother to answer her verbally. Instead he burrowed the tip of his nose through her hair until it pressed against the back of her neck and he fell asleep with the water bender in his arms.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Wow, you guys! I was not expecting this much love from this fandom. I'm so overwhelmed by your kind words. Thanks ever so much for all the reviews and the love. It means more than you know. Much love! xx-Kitten.**

* * *

 **Brightest Nights or Darkest Days**

 _By Kittenshift17_

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 **CHAPTER THREE**

* * *

Katara woke feeling like she was enveloped in a toasted marshmallow – warm and comfortable and feeling better rested than she had been in weeks. Without opening her eyes she writhed slightly, yearning to stretch her warm and pliant muscles.

"Don't," someone suddenly hissed against the back of her neck, warm breath caressing her skin and making the tiny hairs there stand on end. She knew that voice too well with its cold, controlled and angry tone.

"Zuko?" she gasped, wiggling more.

"Stop moving," he practically groaned. He gripped her even tighter and Katara became aware that she was curled up in his arms and pressed very intimately against him. Or, more appropriately, intimate parts of her were pressed dangerously close to a rigid and pointed part of him.

Katara's eyes flew open as she realised what it was. She'd been foolish a while ago when she'd met Jet and the Freedom Fighters. Not to mention she spent all of her time camping with two teenage boys. She was no stranger to just what was poking at her behind.

"That better not be what I think it is, Zuko," Katara bit out. Her cheeks burned with embarrassment even as she said so, knowing exactly what it was even as she scooted her bottom forwards and away from him.

"I've told you once before that I rise with the sun," Zuko retorted in a tight voice. Katara nearly choked on the gasp of shock she sucked into herself at his blunt admittance and his crude words. He'd said the same thing to her at the North Pole during the lunar eclipse just before he'd bested her in a fight. The reminder now in reference to his erect body part was not a welcome one.

"Let me go," she demanded when she found that his arms were tangled around her intimately. His palm was flat against her sternum, his arm deliciously warm and pressed to her taut stomach.

"It's not even dawn yet, and another blizzard kicked up during the night," he informed her. "Just… stop squirming and go back to sleep, Water Bender."

Katara raised her eyebrows wondering how he could possibly know what it was like outside.

"How do you know?" she asked. She frowned as she began trying to roll towards him. She was careful to keep from brushing against the cause of their shared mortification, even as she had to fish his arm from between her breasts and drag it over her ribs and to her back so she could face him.

"I'm a fire bender," he replied. His eyes were squeezed closed and a tight frown marred his face. "I wasn't kidding about the sun. I know when dawn breaks. I can feel it. And I know about the blizzard because it knocked something over downstairs and blew something from the alley in through one of the windows during the night. I checked."

"I didn't know you got up," Katara frowned.

"I know," he said. His frown lessened slightly and Katara wondered how deeply she'd been sleeping that she hadn't woken when he'd struggled out of the tight bedroll they were sharing. She was uncomfortably aware of him suddenly, including the way his essence seemed to have wrapped completely around hers. She felt like she was being pressed with heat on all sides.

She also realised that he was right about how cold it was as she felt a stray breeze blow under the door and kiss across her flesh. Suddenly Katara felt no desire to leave the warmth of the sleeping bag or Zuko's presence.

"You realise this means there's little use trying to go anywhere today?" she asked him quietly. She slipped her arm over his hip and kicked her outer leg over both of his. She burrowed her face into his warm chest, not even really thinking about how intimate and inappropriate it was as her fingers teased the hem of his shirt until she could snake her arm up his warm back inside his shirt, pressing more of her flesh to his and marvelling at how warm he was.

"You realise you're not helping?" he countered from above her head since she'd burrowed into his chest, the tip of her nose pressed to his neck. She could feel his pulse racing beneath it.

Realising with a jolt how intimate a positon she'd just initiated, Katara sighed against his collarbone and decided that the awkwardness could wait until she wasn't so cold and wasn't trapped in a sleeping bag with him. Curling her leg further around him, Katara scooted a little closer to him, using her heel to draw his warm thigh between both of hers and biting her lips at the feel of how warm he was.

"Just be quiet and go back to sleep, Zuko," she said. She used her arm against his back to pull herself closer to him until her front was flush against his and tried to ignore the prodding heat of his problem against her stomach. The key word was 'tried' because Katara was having trouble ignoring it when that part of him was even hotter to touch than everywhere else.

She pursed her lips, her eyes closed as she tried to get to sleep again with him prodding her. She could feel how tense he was from the way his nails were digging ever so slightly into her back where his warm arm was inside the back of her shirt. She also found that beneath her own hand inside his shirt, there were several scars under her fingers. She could feel them on his back. They were silky and soft like burns, and the skin didn't feel tight or puckered – suggesting they were old burns.

Without meaning to, Katara found herself tracing their patterns with her fingertips.

"Try thinking about all the villages you've burned," she said when she felt a twitch against her stomach.

"Try not doing that," Zuko retorted angrily. He twitched his shoulders away from her and clearly not pleased with her suggestion.

Even as he said it Katara imagined she could feel his essence sliding teasingly against her own, brushing against hers in what felt almost like a caress. She bit her bottom lip and nearly laughed when she realised it was most likely as a result of whatever he was thinking about – which most certainly did not seem to be the villages he'd burned to the ground as he hunted Aang.

Despite the terrible history between the two of them and the fact that he'd been her enemy as he'd chased her and her friends all over the world, Katara couldn't help the little giggle that escaped her and the utter absurdity of the moment.

"Bitch," he accused angrily when she laughed. Katara responded by nipping his collarbone. She didn't even think about it before she did so and her breath caught in her throat when his hips bucked slightly against her, bringing his warm thigh higher between her own until it reached their junction.

Katara felt his chi respond when hers squirmed at the suddenly blinding heat pressed intimately between her legs. Her insides clenched and Katara suddenly didn't feel like giggling anymore. She felt her fingers press insistently against his back without conscious thought to do so and she realised with a terrible jolt that the intimacy of their essences so interwoven and entwined was messing with her body and with her mind.

If she was being honest, Katara was no stranger to acts of depravity. When she'd run into Jet, she'd been enamoured with him and she'd surrendered her virtue and her body to him in a wild fit of defiance and need. And right then as she laid so entwined with Zuko, Katara could feel that need rearing its ugly and depraved head again. The very thought unnerved her.

When she'd encountered Jet, Katara had been swept up by his story of losing his people and his yearning to strike back at the Fire Nation for all they had done to him and to the world. Katara had known the feeling and been overcome to find similar feelings in as charming and handsome a package as Jet. But there was a big difference between Jet and Zuko.

And unfortunately she couldn't say that it was that one of them was less ruthless and more conscionable than the other. The only difference was that while she'd believed at the time that Jet was a good person with the best of intentions, she _knew_ Zuko wasn't. His nails dug into her back and Katara bit her lip, trying to get a hold of herself. It wouldn't do to be attracted to Zuko, even passingly.

She was using him to find her friends and that was that. They weren't friends. They certainly weren't going to be lovers.

"Don't do that again," he warned her in that cold voice of his. Katara marvelled at his ability to sound so in control when she could _feel_ his control slipping.

"You're supposed to be thinking about the people you've slaughtered and the villages you've burned and all the terrible things you've done," Katara replied coldly, trying to think about other horrible things too. "Not about whatever it is you're currently thinking about."

She didn't dare mention the feel of his chi entwined with hers as it seemed to caress not just her body but her very soul. She didn't think either of them would survive acknowledging that strange occurrence.

"Stop caressing me and nipping me then," he spat. He jerked back from her far enough to glare into her face furiously.

It was a mistake. The minute she could see his face, Katara found her eyes straying to his lips, suddenly recalling the way they'd felt against hers the day before and she knew then that she needed to get away from him. Otherwise they were going to do something they would regret.

Jerking back from him further, Katara hissed at the feel of his nails and his hot hand on her back sliding over her skin as she moved back from him.

"Let go of me," she demanded, glaring at him when he held onto her a bit tighter.

"No," he snapped. Katara marvelled at his ability to say so much while uttering so little. His many meanings behind that one word came through loud and clear. He didn't have to argue with her about it still being the middle of the night. He didn't have to mention the blizzard raging outside their small haven. He didn't have to mention that it was freezing right outside their shared sleeping bag and that if she got out, she'd just climb right back in a few minutes later when the cold proved too much. He managed to say all that and more with one annoyed facial expression and one uttered word.

Narrowing her eyes at him in frustration, Katara knew she really needed to get away from him. She didn't trust Zuko one bit and, more importantly, she was no longer sure she could trust herself around him. She didn't at all like him, nor was she attracted to him. He was cruel and cold and terrible. But unfortunately he managed to be all of those things inside one terribly warm and rather attractive package.

Silently cursing her own stupidity and her own rotten luck to have been separated from Sokka and Aang only to instead end up with Zuko, Katara did the only thing she could think of the alleviate the tension between them. Burrowing right back into him, her nails digging into his back just a bit, Katara buried her face in his chest and slotted herself right back into his warmth. She could swear she heard him snort even as the sound of his teeth grinding filled her ears but Katara ignored him. Pretending he was a warm pillow, she snuggled into him wrapping her arms and legs around him tightly and refusing to lift her face from his chest.

"You're insane," he informed her matter-of-factly several tense minutes later but Katara ignored that too. She closed her eyes tightly and focused on trying to go back to sleep, even if she could feel the effect her feminine body pressed against his masculine one was having. His teeth grinding a little louder, Zuko squirmed slightly against her, his thigh sliding back between both of hers and pressing against the radiating warmth she could feel between her legs. Katara bit her lip at the intimate position, trying her hardest to hold completely still and not writhe against the sensation.

When he did it again, slower this time, Katara got the feeling he was tormenting her on purpose.

"Stop it, Zuko," she hissed against his chest, digging her nails into his back again.

His cruel chuckle ruffled her hair slightly but he stopped moving. Katara laid there tense in his arms for what felt like hours, listening to the sound of the wind howling outside. She didn't know how she'd slept through it in the first place. It howled and whistled through the house they'd broken into. She could hear signs and other things being blown about outside their room, tossed wildly on the wind.

She could also feel the driving snow on the wind – her element calling out to her. With her eyes closed, Katara felt the tension drain out of her body, her mind sweeping away with the howling wind driving the soft wet snow. Her fingertips began to swirl against Zuko's back in nonsensical patterns in time with the snow on the wind. The desire and tension that she'd woken to drained away in favour of the familiarity and simplicity of her element moving with the wind.

Katara's mind drifted with it, carrying her back to the long years she'd spent at the South Pole with the Southern Water Tribe. Days spent chasing after Gran-Gran and wrangling the younger kids she'd been charged with caring for. Mornings spent racing Sokka to the canoes to go fishing or seal hunting. Afternoons spent feeling the stirrings of her bending ability coming to life. Late evenings beneath the full moon when she'd snuck out of their igloo to stare up at the pale orb and feel the power flow through her limbs.

Lost in her thoughts and carried on the wind with her element, Katara drifted away.

 **~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~**

Zuko's breath hitched when he realised she wasn't really there anymore. Oh, she was solid and warm inside his arms, wrapped in his embrace and curled against him in his sleeping bag. But Katara wasn't there anymore. Her essence swept against his own like raindrops down a window, but the familiar and strangely intoxicating feel of it being completely enveloped inside his own – as it had been all night – suddenly receded.

The wind howled outside their tiny, secluded room and Zuko shivered when he felt another sensation instead. Unlike the curled feel of her chi wrapped insider his, brushing lightly against his as though from within its embrace, Zuko suddenly felt instead the water bender's chi outside of his own, flowing over and around his, like water being sloshed about inside a bowl, only with much more precision. It felt cool, but not cold. Much like the way her fingers caressed his back in nonsensical patterns, her chi flowed against his, brushing and swirling.

He'd never felt anything like it before in his life and he didn't know what to make of it. It was as though she was there, her chi and her body against his, but her mind was elsewhere. It was dancing on the wind and shimmying amid the snow. Zuko realised with a start that despite the cold, this was her element. She might be a water bender, but Katara had been born and raised in a world of driving cold and swirling snow. She would be as at home in the blizzard that raged outside as he was on hot summer days in the palace gardens.

Closing his eyes, Zuko let the patterns of her fingers against his back and the feel of her chi moving against his carry him back to sleep. When he dreamed, the dreams were not his own. Zuko knew that immediately as he found himself inside the strangely bright world of dream. He knew, because it was a world filled with snow and laughter. A world where a boy he didn't know but vaguely recognised ran about with a funny little ponytail and shaved sides of his head.

Where an elderly woman with kind eyes instructed him on ways of the world and brushed her hand lovingly over his hair. Dimly, Zuko was aware that these must be Katara's dreams or memories but he felt no pressing urge to pull away from them. Truthfully, he didn't know if he could. He'd never experienced anything like it before in all his life and he would need to ask his uncle about the notion of one's chi rushing out to brush against another's and sharing dreams like this. He was sure it must be some Spirit World effect.

Lost in a world of snow and ice amid faces he didn't know but strangely felt connected to, Zuko let her dreams carry him through his slumber and for the first time in a long time Prince Zuko of the Fire Nation didn't suffer the same nightmare of his father burning his face and disgracing his amid an Agni Kai before stripping him of his title and his honour and banishing him.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Goodness, that took a little bit longer than I'd have like and I fell of my schedule because I re-watched all three seasons of A:TLA! Sorry about that. I wanted to have this ready days ago, but it wasn't cooperating. In any case, I'd like to thank you all for being so wonderfully generous with your reviews, they're very sweet. I love that you're all enjoying the story so much and I'm so pleased you take the time to express your enjoyment. I was so worried I'd be rubbish at writing this pairing, so all feedback is very welcome. Much love! xx-Kitten.**

* * *

 **Brightest Nights or Darkest Days**

 _By Kittenshift17_

* * *

 **CHAPTER FOUR**

* * *

When he next awoke, Zuko knew something was wrong. He shivered slightly, blinking his eyes open to find he was sprawled on his stomach inside his sleeping bag. He was alone in it, cold with the loss of Katara's body heat against his. Lifting his head and feeling groggy, he tried to make sense of his surroundings. It was dark, making him think he'd somehow slept all the way through the day and well into the following night.

Waving his hand to bend his fire, Zuko lit the small lamp he always carried and his frown deepened when he discovered that Katara was gone. Her things were still scattered about the room, namely her sleeping bag, but she was nowhere in sight. Narrowing his eyes suspiciously, he noted that the door to the room where they'd been staying was open. Getting to his feet, Zuko shivered at the chill in the air outside his warm sleeping bag, pausing long enough to pull his discarded cloak and travelling clothes on before he went in search of the Water Bender.

Carrying the lantern with him, Zuko stalked silently through the house they'd been inhabiting. He followed his ears toward the sound of running water to the end of the hall on the lower level. Zuko stopped in the doorway when he found a second lit lantern inside the room. He could hear the sound of chattering teeth and with a start Zuko realised that it was a washroom.

And Katara was in the process of bathing.

The Water Bender was clearly using her bending to make the shower run despite the frozen pipes thanks to the blizzard. His eyes skidded to a halt when he spotted the sight of her clothing in a basin where they were swirling back and forth, seemingly of their own accord. He raised his eyebrows when he realised she was also bending in order to wash her clothing. All of it. Zuko felt a minute tremor run through his body when he spotted the sight of her binding sarashi wraps amid the other garments.

Meaning she was completely naked as she chattered her teeth all the through her shower. Zuko gulped audibly.

Was she mad? Who decided to do laundry and take a bath during a blizzard? The answer, apparently, was water bending fugitives. Then again, Zuko supposed she could bend the water right out of her clothing so they would be dry again once they were clean.

"Stupid cold!" He heard her mutter from inside the shower behind the screen. He couldn't see her through it. The idea that she was naked on the other side of those flimsy screens made him feel strange inside and the same sensation he'd woken to that morning when he'd _risen with the sun_ , so to speak, twitched through him at the very idea. Having spent a good deal of time sleeping with her in his arms, he had a very real concept of the curvy, tautly muscled figure Katara sported under all her clothing. And despite his aversion to Water Benders and to being touched, Zuko was still very much a hot-blooded male.

Setting his lantern down on the bench, Zuko found himself silently traversing the floor of the washroom until he was standing beside the screen. The urge to rip it away and demand to know what she was doing was strong. Zuko denied it. Barely. Instead he found himself reaching for the pipe the water was gushing out of, wrapping his hand around it tightly before directing heat into the appendage and warming both the pipe and the water that rushed through it.

"Oh," Katara sighed for just a moment inside the shower before she gasped. "Zuko?"

Zuko rolled his eyes to himself. How many other Fire Benders did she know who wouldn't immediately be trying to force themselves on her or trying to capture her for being a Water Bender?

"You and I need to have a discussion about boundaries, Prince Zuko," Katara said sternly.

"I can leave and you can have the freezing cold water back, if you'd prefer?" Zuko sneered from beyond the curtain.

"Why are you in the washroom with me? And why are you being nice to me?" she asked suspiciously, refusing to rise to the bait.

"Maybe you're not the only one interested in bathing and having clean clothes," he informed her.

"Oh," she huffed. Zuko smirked to himself. "Right. Of course. Well, I'll be done in a minute."

Zuko didn't respond as he channelled heat into the pipes and waited for her to finish. The tension between the two of them from the previous day returned tenfold as she finished bathing and Zuko was surprised by the scent of fresh jasmine and papaya, realising with a jolt that she must have some kind of soap or something behind the screen.

"You can stop heating the pipe now," she said quietly. Zuko listened the sound of her bending all the water off her body as it ceased rushing from the pipe.

"I take it you won't need this?" he asked, dangling a towel he found on the washroom shelf over the screen towards her.

"I do actually," she replied, taking it from him. "But not to get dry."

Zuko blinked at her in surprise, leaning against the basin as she came around the shower screen wrapped in the towel. Her tanned skin was flushed pink from the warmth of the shower. She eyed him carefully, as though she feared he might lunge at her and Zuko rolled his eyes in response.

"You can get in, if you want." She waved her hand at the screen and the shower beyond it. "Throw your things over and I'll bend some more water to wash them for you."

Zuko eyed her a minute longer before taking her suggestion. She baffled him completely. He also needed to do something about the problem he was having at seeing so much of her skin on display. The towel was short, barely covering her middle and all her feminine parts. The last thing he needed was more mortifying discussion about his inability to completely control his entire body. Something he was lamenting furiously as he rounded the shower screen and began to strip. The idea that she was just beyond the screen unsettled him a bit but he disrobed just the same.

"Let me know when you want water," she said over the sound of wet clothing being lifted from the basin. Zuko peeked around the screen just the tiniest bit at the sound of her bending the water free of her clothing, watching with some fascination as she pulled the water from the fabric with ease, leaving it dry and much cleaner than he suspected it had been in some time. Not that he blamed her. Who knew how long it had been since he'd had cleanly laundered clothing or bathed properly?

He very rarely had the opportunity to bathe in peace given that he was a wanted fugitive and he certainly didn't have time or the inclination to do laundry. When the things he wore grew too soiled, he usually just stole something else and discarded the dirty garments. He bit his lip and tossed his things over the screen, still peeking around it slightly and watching her.

"Ok," he said quietly, waiting for her to begin bending the water. He moved slightly so she wouldn't see him peeking when she glanced in his direction and made a pulling motion with her arm. Zuko wrapped his own hand around the pipe to heat the water as he heard it bubbling through the pipers before it spilled down his back.

He tipped his head back into the spray, sighing at the feel of the hot water sliding over his skin and suppressing a groan at how good it felt to bathe properly for once. Tilting his head towards the wall and enjoying the water, Zuko peeked around the curtain again, his free hand fisting his current problem – which was growing steadily at the sight of Katara. She had dropped the towel she wore and was in the process of re-binding her chest. Zuko moved his thigh to hide the jutting evidence of his arousal over the sight she made, being sure that if she did glance in his direction and spot a glimpse of him behind the screen she wouldn't see _all_ of him.

"Hey!" he protested when the water stopped suddenly a few minutes later.

"Do you want clean clothes or not?" she asked. She sounded amused. Zuko looked up to see the water was being channelled over the screen and into the basin where she'd washed her things, having disposed of the dirty water from her own clothing. He felt very much at a disadvantage when he noticed that she was now fully clothed while he was still naked.

Zuko waited impatiently, trying not to shiver at the feel of his wet skin in the chilled room without the hot water rushing over him. He sighed when she directed it back at him and Zuko went about trying to wash himself as best he could with only one hand. The other was controlling the water temperature and he wasn't about to risk the feel of freezing water on his skin for the sake of proper scrubbing.

Using the soap he found inside the shower – that she'd clearly used as well - Zuko scrubbed at his skin and then his hair, which had grown long enough to hang into his eyes in a wild tangle as a way of better hiding his scar and his identity from the Fire Nation. When he was clean – feeling shiny and new again – Zuko let the water rush over him for a few minutes more, leaning his forehead and the balled fist of his free hand against the wall of the shower.

He really needed to do something about his _problem_ , but he didn't know how with her in the room. Oh, he could be quiet, but the idea that he had this problem at all was outright embarrassing. He was a grown man, for crying out loud. One curvy little water bender should not be able to rob him of his self-control. What right did she have to look and feel that intriguing, anyway?

Sighing heavily again, Zuko listened to the sounds of her swishing the water through his clothing vigorously. She'd begun to hum softly, as though she were off in her own mind as she went about the task as though she was used to it. Living with her brother and the Avatar on the run from the Fire Nation – Zuko supposed she _was_ used to it. He didn't imagine either of those idiots were any better about laundry than he was.

The notion that she mothered them made him snort with amusement.

He regretted the very thought when it followed with notions of her actually being a mother. Especially when his body twitched and throbbed painfully at the very idea. This was getting out of hand. He was going to have to do something. He couldn't stand to be in her presence and her company for however long she was likely to follow him around without either screwing her – which he had no doubt they would _both_ morally oppose – or finding another way to deal with his problem.

Being quick about it, Zuko turned slightly so his back was to her if she peeked around the screen and smoothed his hand over his swollen flesh. Used to the requirement of hurrying through such a thing when it was for the simple purpose of relieving pent up tension or frustration, he was as quick as he could be.

He felt dirty afterward, especially considering that he'd found the humming water bender featuring in the imaginings that had pushed him over the edge. This would never do. She was a Water Bender and he was a Fire Bender. She was his prey and he, her pursuer. They might temporarily be travelling companions but soon enough they would locate his uncle and the Avatar and then they would part ways once more. Zuko resigned himself to the fact that until then, they were going to have to get along as well as enemies could.

He made sure to squash the thought that popped into his mind of just how well enemies might be able to get along, if given the chance.

"You can make the water stop now," he said, a bite of annoyance in his voice as he found himself angry over what he'd done. Over what she'd caused.

The water cut off and Zuko straightened. He hissed in surprise when she pulled the water from his body and his hair, leaving him cold but dry behind the curtain. He narrowed his eyes when her hand, clutching a clean towel, appeared around the edge of the screen before he snatched the cloth from her. Despite already being dry, Zuko found himself scrubbing the towel furiously over his skin for a minute before wrapping it tightly around his waist and stalking around the shower screen.

Katara glanced up at him in surprise from where she was still agitating his clothing in the basin, swirling the water wildly. Zuko crossed his arms over his chest, too angry to really care that she was eyeing his naked chest strangely.

"Um… Zuko?" she said quietly. He raised his only eyebrow at her questioningly. The other didn't grow anymore – not since his father had burned his face.

"Could you turn around for a second?" she asked and Zuko frowned.

"What for?"

"Just do it, would you?" she asked. Zuko narrowed his eyes at her further, sensing she had some reason for it but wasn't going to share it with him until he complied. He didn't much like that, but he did it nonetheless. Turning until his back was to her, he watched her over his shoulder.

"Oh," she murmured. Zuko realised she must be staring at the burns and scars crisscrossing his back from the fire bending training and battles he'd had in his younger years. "They're gone."

"What?" he asked. He flinched when he felt her cool fingers smoothing over his back.

"The scars I could feel here… they're gone."

"What do you mean, they're gone?" he asked.

"See for yourself." She nodded at the mirror over the basin where his clothes were washing.

Zuko angled his shoulders to look at his back – not having done so in years - and he was surprised to see that she was right. The previously scar-riddled flesh was smooth and unblemished.

"How?" he asked, eyeing the skin with some annoyance. He'd _earned_ some of those scars, damn it!

"I think maybe I got a bit carried away this morning," she admitted. "I was trying to bend the snow outside, but I was touching your skin… Water benders can heal…."

Zuko eyed her in confusion for a moment as her words sunk in.

"You healed my scars?"

"Only the ones on your back," she told him softly. Zuko flinched, jerking back when she reached up as though to brush her fingers over the scar on his face.

"Don't touch me!" he hissed. His eyes sparkled with fury.

How _dare_ she think she could just reach up and touch the scar on his face as though it weren't the most sensitive and horrifying part of him?

"Sorry," she whispered. She lowered her hand, moving back once more and returning her attention to his clothing in the sink where she washed them. Zuko continued to glare at her in annoyance before turning his own attention back to the mirror and to the fact that all the scars on his back where she'd swirled her fingers were gone.

She didn't say anything else to him as she pulled the water from him clothing and disposed of it. She handed the garments back to him in silence and Zuko watched as she left the washroom quickly, pulling the door closed behind her.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Hello my darlings! I'm back a bit earlier than the full week I had scheduled between updates because the last chapter was a little bit short. I'm so thrilled so many of you are enjoying my take on Zutara and this fandom. It's a lot of fun to write. This chapter's a bit of a whopper clocking in at 9k+ words, so I hope you enjoy it. Much love and many thanks to all of you for taking the time to read and review! xx-Kitten.**

* * *

 **Brightest Nights or Darkest Days**

 _By Kittenshift17_

* * *

 **CHAPTER FIVE**

* * *

Katara paced the length of the room she and Zuko had used for sleeping the previous evening. She felt full of energy after so long spent resting – after finally catching up on the hours of sleep she'd been missing whilst waking at every noise when she'd travelled alone. She needed to do _something_ , but it was just so cold that she didn't dare leave the room. Were she still at the South Pole, with her tribe, she'd be used to the cold and would go about her day as though it were any other. Blizzards were commonplace and so she was used to enduring them.

But she hadn't been home in more than a year now, and she wasn't dressed for blizzard conditions, even in the garments she'd stolen after being separated from Aang and Sokka. She missed them, she realised. In this type of weather both boys would've been making their own fun and likely would've started a snowball fight or something similar. She'd have happily joined in, using her bending to wicked effect. But she didn't think that Zuko would appreciate the art of a good snowball fight.

He was a surly, moody, annoying sod of a person. Katara was torn between the urge to smack him to tell him to stop being such a snipe and the urge to simply leave him be, lest his foul temper land her in the flames. Literally. She didn't doubt that he would not take kindly to being bossed about by anyone, let alone by her. Pacing back and forth across the room, Katara tossed up the idea of having a snack, but she wasn't really hungry.

She needed to do something. It was too cold to even think about leaving the safe-haven the house provided. Beyond the walls of the small building, the blizzard winds howled. She could hear the sounds of anything not tied down being tossed about wildly upon the wind. She imagined, in a storm like this, that even many things that were tied down would likely be tested at their moorings.

She was still pacing restlessly when Zuko returned, fully dressed, to the room they'd shared while they slept. He looked no less angry than he'd done when she'd left him in the bathroom and Katara suspected he was annoyed that she'd healed the scars on his back. She wondered how long it might take before he would consider asking her to heal the one on his face, too.

Katara wondered if she'd even be _able_ to heal it. It wasn't exactly a normal scar. It had been given to him during an Agni Kai and from the angry way it still stood so starkly red despite the number of years since he'd been given it, she knew the damage to the area must go deep into the dermal layers of his flesh.

She watched, still pacing, as he moved over to his bag and fished out a strip of the same jerky he'd been eating last night before sitting down and chewing it slowly. He didn't appear to pay her any notice, but as she paced Katara got the distinct feeling that he was watching her. It itched between her shoulder blades just the same way it did whenever she'd been hunting seal at the South Pole and a pod of whales were nearby.

She wasn't hungry enough to join him in his meal and her restlessness seemed to grow as the sound of the blizzard raging outside grew louder. The wind was howling out there now, buffeting the house and making the wood and the earthen walls of it groan under the strain.

"You should eat," Zuko spoke quietly. "You're going to need your strength."

Katara stopped, turning slowly toward him for the ominous tone in his voice.

"Oh?" she asked. "It's not like we can leave the house in this weather. Even if we could – and I _could_ bend the snow away from us to travel if we _had_ to – there would be little point. Aang and Sokka won't be travelling in conditions like this. Neither will your Uncle."

"I have no intention of leaving." Zuko said, tilting his head slightly so that he met her gaze out the eye that bore the scar.

"Then what do I need my strength for?" Katara demanded.

His smile was cold and cruel as he slowly rose back to his full height and stalked on silent feet across the distance between the two of them. Katara flinched when he suddenly pulled a pair of daggers and lunged at her. Reacting on pure instinct, Katara leapt backward out of the way. Zuko followed her.

"Don't bend at me," he warned. "If I'm going to let you tag along with me until we find my Uncle, you're going to need to prove that you can fight without giving either of us away as Benders."

Katara dodged him when he tried to slash at her again. She got the feeling he wasn't like Sokka or Aang, who would purposely avoid hitting her with the sharp edge blade should they land a blow. Zuko would cut her if he got the chance.

"I don't have a blade," Katara protested. "If I can't bend, it's hardly a fair fight."

"Then you better find a way to defend yourself, hadn't you?" Zuko sneered.

Katara narrowed her eyes on him, dodging another lunge from him and countering it with a high kick to his exposed ribs. He grunted at the impact and Katara squealed in pain when his free hand brought a dagger up and slashed at the back of her right thigh, cutting through the thick fabric on her clothing but not quite managing to penetrate all the layers to reach the flesh beneath.

"Stop, Zuko!" Katara commanded sternly. She withdrew across the far side of the room and held her hands up in surrender. "I don't know how to fight hand-to-hand. I can use a knife to skin and butcher meat, but I don't know how to fight with one. I don't even carry one because Sokka always handled whatever needing cutting if I couldn't use my bending to do it."

She spoke quickly, blurting the words out as Zuko backed her into the wall of the room until she was pressed up against it.

"Then what use are you as a travelling companion?" he demanded when he was a hairsbreadth from her face, his nose almost brushing hers. One blade pressed against her throat in warning while the other dug into her stomach, poking a hole in her clothes and threatening to disembowel her.

"I'm a water bender," she reminded him. "And it's snowing. You think that I'll really be of no use whatsoever?"

"I think you'll slow me down," Zuko replied.

"Well, I won't. Travelling is actually much easier when you do it with someone who can bend the snow from the roads," she said. Her breath came in short gasps as she held his golden-eyed gaze, fearing he might murder her just for spite.

"Maybe it is," he conceded the point after a moment of thought. "But you're too easy to recognise as a Water Bender. Maybe you didn't notice, Katara, but you and I are both wanted by the Fire Nation."

"So?" Katara asked. "I'm only wanted for being the travelling companion of the Avatar. Unlike you, _Prince_ Zuko. Or should I call you The Blue Spirit?"

The tip of his dagger pierced the delicate flesh at her neck and Katara whimpered at the sting.

"What do you know about that?" he asked in a low, dangerous tone that suggested he would literally kill her for lying.

"I know you're the Blue Spirit." Katara shrugged her shoulders. "And I know you've been working against the Fire Nation, often, during your travels through the Earth Kingdom. I've known for more than a week. I'm not exactly going to rat you out, Zuko."

Zuko narrowed his eyes on her hatefully.

"Which brings us back to you holding me at knife-point," Katara said, filling the silence when he didn't speak or move. "I don't know how to fight with knives and I _know_ that you're a weapons master with swords, so this is hardly a fair fight. Especially since I'm unarmed. If you're so worried about the idea of me being a liability because I don't know how to fight without Water Bending, then teach me, genius."

"And give you a skill that you'll turn against me the minute we find your friends?" Zuko scoffed, suddenly drawing back from her and sheathing his blades.

"Do you imagine that I'm as heartless as you, Zuko?" Katara demanded. She raised one eyebrow in silent challenge. "I'm not really the type of person who would turn on someone, even a prior enemy, once I've declared them useful to my cause."

Zuko glared at her.

"What do I get in exchange for teaching you to fight?" he asked. Katara could tell he was pondering the idea carefully, looking for some kind of trick. She wondered just how cruel the world had been to him and how rotten his childhood had been that he was so suspicious of everything.

"What do you want in exchange for it?" she asked rather than offering an answer. She couldn't actually think of anything she had that she would be willing to offer him. She could Water Bend and she was a decent cook, but that was really the extent of her skills – at least those that Zuko might consider useful.

He looked stumped by her question, his eyes travelling over her slowly. Katara squirmed under his intense gaze, suddenly recalling the image he'd made shirtless in the washroom and the feel of every masculine inch of him pressed so sinfully against her body in the bed-roll that morning. For a terrible moment, she wondered if he was going to suggest she repay the favour of him teaching her to fight by sharing her body with him. For an even more wretched second, she wondered what she would say if he did.

"I'll think about it," he replied. "Until then, if I teach you to fight, you owe me a debt, Water Bender."

"Are you going to keep calling me that?" Katara sighed. "I have a name, you know?"

"If I use it, you might get the false impression that you and I could one day be friends," he answered dismissively.

Katara rolled her eyes to herself as she watched him shrug out of his coat and toss it on his bed-roll. He followed by putting all of his knives down. She found herself alarmed by the fact that he'd somehow been carrying eight of them on his person.

"Take that off," he pointed at the coat he'd poked holes in.

"You put holes in it," she scowled at him.

"Shut up. Take it off and prepare to fight, Katara."

"You want to fight now?" she demanded.

Zuko actually looked up at her, his only eyebrow lifting in a way that made her think he doubted her intelligence.

"Did you have some other pass-time in mind until this blizzard lets up enough to move on?"

Narrowing her eyes on him, Katara pulled her coat off and tossed it with his things.

"We should do this downstairs," he decided. "There's more room and less chance of you stumbling over our belongings."

He stalked out the door and way down the steps to the lower portion of the house without another word. Katara followed him, muttering to herself about the sarcastic, biting tone he had so mastered. And about the idea that he thought her so clumsy and inept that she would trip over their stuff. She wondered if his sarcasm was something he'd picked up, or something bred into him just because he was royalty. Maybe being an arrogant, pompous jerk was genetic.

When she joined him on the lower level, he stood with his arms loose, his eyes fixed upon her and calculating every detail.

"I don't know how to fight," she warned him. "Not without bending."

"Put the water pouch down," he commanded, eyeing the canteen strapped to her hip like it were a live snake.

"That's hardly fair. You can still bend at me."

He smirked. He also didn't say anything else. He simply waited for her to obey. Katara pouted. She didn't like the idea of putting down her canteen. Even with all the snow outside the window readily available, she always felt naked with the canteen on her hip.

"I have the control _not_ to bend when I lose my temper," he said finally when Katara had unfastened her only weapon and laid it on one of the steps. "You, on the other hand…"

He trailed off but his judgemental expression really said it all. Feeling her temper flare at the criticism, Katara narrowed her eyes on him before lunging right at him.

He was expecting it.

Katara squawked when he parried the blow she aimed for his head, catching her wrist and twisting her arm until she was trapped, her back to him and her arm jerked uncomfortably behind her. If he pulled it up too high, she was sure her shoulder would break.

"Hey!" Katara protested. She squirmed when his free hand lifted to collar her throat threateningly, the touch making the small cut he'd left with his dagger sting.

"You're very predictable," he warned. "You should work on that. And you should be grateful I didn't let you land the hit. You'd have broken your thumb."

"What? Why?" Katara asked twisting her head to meet his gaze over her shoulder.

His eyes narrowed for a minute before he released her arm and her throat. He waited for her to straighten her arms but stopped her when she tried to step away from him. Instead, he manipulated her body backward until she was pressed with her back to his front. Her breath caught in her throat despite having spent all of her sleep hours in almost this exact position with him. When he caught both of her wrists, he lifted her hands up in front of her face to eye-level.

He didn't seem to notice or care that he was pressed to intimately against her. Or if he did, he certainly didn't let on that it bothered him. Katara, on the other hand was becoming aware that with his clothes and his body freshly washed – even with the sweet smelling soap in the bathroom – his own personal scent was intoxicating. The heat of his body in the cold of the downstairs rooms – one of which sported a broken window – made her want to melt back against him and absorb his warmth rather than continuing to fight. She was beginning to think she might be losing her mind.

"Make a fist," he said.

Katara did as she was told, putting all other thoughts out of her mind and trying to focus on the lesson.

"That's why you would've broken your thumb. _Never_ tuck you thumb inside your fingers when you make a fist." Zuko fished her thumb from inside each fist, tucking them outside her curled fingers.

Katara watched carefully as he gripped the back of her hand and guided it in a slow motion punch forward, pausing to straighten her wrist.

"Keep your wrist aligned and locked in place," he said, "Like this.

He released he hands and punched one fist against the open palm of his other hand. It made a smacking sound. Katara mimicked him, frowning when her wrist seemed to twist sideways slightly on impact, making the joint twinge.

"I told you to lock it in place," he said. "If you do it like that when you punch something solid, you'll snap your wrist. Hand-to hand fighting isn't like your limp-wristed water bending."

"I always fight this way," Katara protested. She stepped away from him until her back no longer pressed to his chest and peered up at him.

"You mean when you bend?" he frowned. "That's the problem. When you bend, it's about being fluid and smooth, like your element. You need to bend like a Fire Bender would. Or an Earth Bender. You have to be sure and concise in your movement. Watch."

He demonstrated the way he did his bending. Shooting fireballs from each fist, he rapidly punched the air in front of himself, his fists clenched, his wrists locked. His arms fully extended every time he made the motion before darting back to his side, ready to protect his core or to punch again.

Each fireball hissed and sizzled as it landed in the snow that had piled up through a hole in the window where he'd mentioned a sign had blown through it during the night.

Katara mimicked the movement carefully, slowing it down until she was sure she'd mastered the art. Zuko nodded almost imperceptibly, watching her like a hawk. Katara smiled, realising that was the extent of the praise she was likely to get from the surly prince.

The entire evening was spent that way. First he showed her each move he wanted her to learn, and when he thought she had it, he moved on to the next one. Katara was panting and sweating by the time he told her that it was time they put what she'd learned into practice. Despite the cold, the exertion had seen him strip down to only his sleeveless tunic and pants. Katara herself had stripped to her sarashi wraps.

She squared off against Zuko, looking for a weakness she could exploit. She knew she would lose this fight, even if it was only a training match. He was far bigger, far stronger and far more experienced at fighting hand-to-hand. That, and he was ruthless. Narrowing her eyes on him, Katara wondered if she couldn't use her smaller stature to her advantage. He lunged at her without warning and Katara parried the blow, immediately shifting into the fluid movement of her water bending forms.

She might not be able to defeat him with brute strength, but if she could avoid enough of his blows, eventually he would tire. He smirked wickedly at her when she evaded several hits in a row before attempting to return fire. She landed on punch on his arm, quite hard. Katara hissed and danced back from him immediately, her wrist throbbing.

"Told you to keep it locked," he sneered before lunging at her again.

Katara grunted when he knocked the wind out of her with a kick to the stomach. She cuffed him around the head and he bared his teeth at her in annoyance for the blow before tripping her and following her to the floor. They scuffled for several minutes, each trying to get the upper hand.

As she'd known would happen, she ended up on the bottom, his fist poised to pummel her while he pinned her by the throat.

"To be fair, you've been doing this for years," she told him when he paused, waiting to see if she was going to keep fighting.

"So have most of the people you'll have to fight," he replied with a condescending sneer. He was barely even panting and Katara had a stitch in her side.

"Want to have a Bending battle?" she asked when he lowered his fist to the floor and released her throat. He still loomed over her, his lower half pinning her legs to the floor while he held his upper body off her.

"As though that won't get noticed?" he asked.

"Do you really think the soldiers will be wandering about in this weather?" Katara asked sceptically as the icy wind kissed across her bare arms and midriff.

Zuko glanced toward the broken window. It had grown dark once more, the storm raging on.

"We'll never find Uncle in this," he muttered. Fire seemed to dance in his eyes when he looked back at her.

"Fine. Bending match. But no hard feelings when I best you. Again," he smirked before levering himself off of her.

Katara scrambled to her feet and dodged the fireball he shot in her direction. It hit the wall and Katara winced.

"Maybe no bending," Zuko said, also cringing as he pulled the fire back from the wall, leaving a large scorch mark behind.

"Not inside, anyway," Katara sighed. Even as she said so, she used her bending to lob a snowball right at Zuko's face. The wet smack of the missile connecting with his cheek made her giggle.

"We just agreed…" Zuko began before Katara lobbed another snowball at him. He narrowed his eyes on her.

"Don't get angry. You're as capable of throwing them as I am," she insisted, putting aside her bending to build a snowball with her own hands before hurling it at him.

Zuko did not look impressed.

"I'm supposed to believe you'd fight fair, even if you didn't use bending to hurl the snowballs?" he asked, raising his eyebrow.

"Are you saying you don't think I'd fight fair, Zuko? Or are you just scared that you'll lose, even if I do?"

" _I_ wouldn't fight fair," he muttered before diving through the hole in the window and gathering up some snow of his own. Katara followed him, shivering at the temperature difference outside the house and in the middle of the storm.

Zuko threw a snowball at her but the wind carried it away before it could hit her. When she tried throwing one back, the same thing happened. Narrowing her eyes, Katara settled for good old fashioned wrestling. She raced across the small patch of snow separating the two of them and tackled him, surprising Zuko, who was squinting against the driving wind and snow as he tried to make another snowball.

He yowled in surprised when she knocked him off his feet and into the snow. Katara smirked as she pinned him to the ground, feeling smug to have managed to knock him off his feet. He flipped her easily and Katara shrieked at the feel of the ice and snow against her bare skin.

"What's wrong, Water Bender? Can't take the cold?" he challenged from above her.

Katara struggled beneath him, shoving him off of her and laughing when he landed next to her in the snow once more. He cursed foully at the temperature and at the idea that she'd managed to throw him off. She squawked in surprise when he lunged at her again. Katara got the feeling that Zuko wasn't used to games.

He didn't seem to know how to play-fight. He was only used to sparring or fighting for real with the intention of winning by defeating his opponent. She was thinking she was going to have to change his attitude toward fun. Zuko make a noise of protest when she rolled them both with his momentum until he was pinned on his back. She straddled his thighs and pinned his wrists by his head.

"Now who doesn't like the snow?" she laughed before scooping up a handful of it and smushing it in his face.

It was a mistake. Zuko bucked violently beneath her, obviously not liking to have his face touched. Katara suddenly found herself on her back in the snow once more, both of his hands wrapped around her neck and attempting to squeeze the life out of her.

Her eyes widened at the hatred glittering in his face.

"Zuko!" she wheezed, clawing at his hands and trying to fight him off. He squeezed tighter still and Katara panicked. Summoning her bending, she gathered the snow and used it to hurl him off of her.

He landed a few feet away in the snow and Katara panted heavily as she was granted oxygen once more. She sat up slowly. Part of her wanted to be angry with him for what he'd done, but it occurred to her that having anyone touch his face or throw anything at it was probably a trigger of some kind. The last time anyone had done so, his face had been badly burned.

He was cursing foully to himself, fire racing across his flesh in his rage as he burst free of the snow she'd encased him in. Katara watched him glare at her for a moment, obviously livid to the point of speechlessness. He turned his back on her and walked a few paces away when Katara tried to convey her contrition.

"I'm sorry, Zuko," she blurted, the wind snatching her words before they could reach him. "I didn't realise you would react like that. I was just trying to have fun with you."

He didn't react to her words. Katara doubted he even heard her speak them and she pulled herself to her feet. She was beginning to shiver now, the cold of being wet, only wearing her sarashi wraps and being out in such a terrible blizzard rapidly lowering her body temperature. They both needed to get inside, but she doubted he was going to cooperate on that. The stubborn fool would likely stand out here until he froze to death.

Her teeth were already beginning to chatter as she did the only thing she could think of to mend the damage she'd caused. She acted the way she would have had it been Aang or Sokka who was angry at her; closing the distance between herself and Zuko before encircling his waist with her arms and pressing herself against his back.

"Get. Off. Me!" he growled, stiffening immediately.

"I'm sorry," Katara apologised. "I didn't know. I didn't mean to upset you."

Rather than having the effect of an apology the way it would work on Sokka or Aang, Zuko stiffened even further. Even with her mind warning her away, Katara squeezed him tighter, cuddling him even closer. She pressed her cold body against his and she almost sighed with relief when she felt his chi brush along the length of hers.

He didn't seem like he was going to move, even though she could feel that he'd begun to shiver as well. Sighing against the back of his shirt, Katara flicked her wrist to erect a wall of ice around them, cutting off the wind.

"Get off me, Water Bender," Zuko said quietly.

"No. You're being stubborn. I didn't think, alright? I'm sorry for upsetting you. I forgot that you might not deal well with having anyone force a foreign object against your face. I'm sorry," Katara felt like she was beginning to babble. "And I now you're angry and that an apology probably won't cut it with you, but we need to get back inside before we both freeze to death. We're not exactly dressed for a snowball fight in a blizzard."

"How am I supposed to do that with you clinging to me?" he demanded.

Katara rolled her eyes, unwinding her arms from around his lean waist and tugging on his arm to drag him toward the house. He shook his arm immediately, trying to dislodge her hold, but Katara just latched on tighter. When he wrenched violently on the appendage to try and get free of her, Katara suddenly found herself very much inside his personal space once more, her chest colliding with his.

He glared down into her face when she glanced up at him guiltily.

"Are you always this clingy?" he asked coolly.

"Don't be a jerk," Katara rolled her eyes.

"Don't touch me," he replied.

She shook her head, refusing to release him even as she made for the house once more. Indeed, she didn't let go of him until she was sure he was inside the house and not likely to freeze to death in the snow. As soon as they were both inside, Katara used her bending to pull the water from their clothing and their skin before she reached for the clothing she'd been discarding since they began sparring, pulling it all back on hurriedly until she was fully dressed once more.

Zuko did the same thing, following her up the stairs and away from the cold draught blowing through the hole in the window. Katara could feel his anger radiating off him from across the room when she sat down on her bed-roll and wrapped the fabric around herself, trying to warm up. She reached for her snack,s watching Zuko pace for a few minutes before he followed suit.

He sat on his bed-roll, fished out his tea-pot and the two cups before silently handing her the tea-pot. Katara smiled to herself. It seemed they were going to develop a ritual, no matter how angry he might currently be with her or how tense things felt between the two of them in general.

She filled the pot and returned it, watching him boil it while she began gnawing on the fruit and nuts she kept on hand. She offered him some of them when he passed her a steaming cup of tea and a strip of jerky. He accepted, as he'd done the previous evening.

"Are you going to talk to me for the rest of the evening, or are you still upset with me?" Katara asked when their meal was mostly finished.

Zuko glared at her.

"Only, it would make sense to discuss travel plans. It seems clear to me that Sokka and Aang aren't here, and neither is Iroh. There is also the fact that those soldiers might recognise us after that stunt yesterday. We need to move on."

Zuko curled his lip at her.

"We need supplies," he argued, eyeing the meagre pile that remained of their food supplies when Katara pulled hers out and he did the same.

"We aren't going to be able to buy them without being noticed in this village," she said seriously, frowning slightly. "If any of those soldiers from yesterday spot us, they'll probably try to arrest us. And any of them getting close enough to you to see your scar will recognise you, what with the wanted posters for you and Iroh up all over the place.

Zuko nodded.

"Steal supplies, it is, then," he muttered. "As soon as the storm dies off enough to leave the house, we'll have to steal more."

Katara nodded in agreement. She nibbled her bottom lip as she finished her meal before summoning her bending power to rinse the cup she'd used. She rinsed Zuko's too when she noticed it was empty and watch him fuss around pulling off a few layers before he climbed into his bed-roll.

He looked over at her as she started to do the same thing.

"Are you going to shiver all night again?" he asked seriously.

Katara paused, looking over at him. The truth was that as awkward as sharing a sleeping roll with him was, it beat shivering in her sleeping bag by herself.

"I didn't think you…" she trailed off, not wanting to anger him again by suggesting that she didn't think he'd care if she suffered while he was annoyed with her.

Zuko glared at her just the same before sighing as though she were the most annoying thing he'd ever encountered. He peeled open his sleeping bag enough to make room for her and stared at her expectantly. Katara almost giggled as she crawled hesitantly across the space until she slotted herself in next to him. Using her sleeping bag as an extra blanket, she arranged it over the two of them carefully.

She tried not to let herself melt against the warmth he always seemed to radiate, but her toes were still numb from being outside and Katara found herself burrowing into him. The feel of his chi enveloping hers was a welcome one as he doused the light, plunging them both into darkness.

She didn't know how long they both laid there, tense and stiff against one another without speaking. She suspected he was still angry with her and she was uncomfortably aware of all the places their bodies touched under the blankets.

"Do you always go to bed this early?" she found herself asking when she couldn't get comfortable or turn her mind off long enough to think about sleep.

"No," he answered. Even that one word was clipped with anger.

"If your Uncle was here, what would the two of you do instead of going to bed after dinner?" Katara asked quietly. "Aang, Sokka and I take turns telling stories of the things we did. Aang's are all from before the war, while Sokka and I tell stories from what we did before we found him in the ice."

Zuko was quiet for so long, she wasn't sure he was going to answer.

"When we were on the ship with the crew," he began, "Uncle would arrange nights to keep them all entertained. Tea nights. Music nights. Story nights. Things to build moral and make friends, he called them. Most of the time he just wanted someone to drink with and a reason to play his Tsungi horn."

Katara smiled.

"You Uncle isn't like the rest of the Fire nation, is he?" she said softly, twisting slightly until she was facing him. She couldn't see him through the dark, but there was something about knowing he was right there that felt comforting. The very idea terrified her. Nothing about Zuko should make her feel comfortable. Yet the feel of his chi curled around hers and the feel of him, so warm and so close, made her feel better than she'd done since being separated from Sokka and Aang.

"No, he's not," Zuko said. "He… My uncle looks for the good in others; he finds the good in any situation and stays positive even when there is no call for it. He'd rather get to know someone than pick a fight with them. There were whispers, when I was young, before I was banished, that he used to be like my Grandfather and my father. A respected son of the Fire Nation in line for the throne. He was the only person to ever come close to taking Ba Sing Se from the outside."

"What changed?" Katara whispered.

"In the middle of the take-over he received word that my cousin – his son, Lu Ten - had been killed in battle," Zuko said. "I don't know the full story, I never dared to ask him. But he lost his will to fight, to conquer, even to live – for a while – after Lu Ten was killed."

"That's awful," Katara said, her heart squeezing inside her chest.

"All Uncle ever said to me about it was that he would never again be responsible for causing pain to anyone's mother or father by taking their child's life. That he could not bear the thought of inflicting such a thing on another when he knew, firsthand, how much it hurt to lose his son."

Katara felt her eyes fill.

"Were you close to him?" she asked. "Your cousin."

Zuko shrugged.

"When we were young, I suppose. He was several years older than me. By the time I was of any use to play with, he was old enough to be heading off to war. Whenever he was home, he made time for me. He was the one who taught me how to punch, actually." His voice seemed devoid of any emotion, but pressed so close to him, she could feel the slight tremble that went through him.

Thinking that was all she was likely to get out of him for the evening, given than he didn't trust her or like her, Katara changed the subject.

"When we get bored while we're flying, Sokka, Aang and I play a game. It's called, "If there wasn't a War, I would…" Do you want to play?" she asked him brightly, "I'll go first, if you want? If there wasn't a war, I would want to try riding the cargo carts at Omashu again. Without being afraid of capture or being concerned about what would happen if we were caught."

"You what?" Zuko asked, sounding startled.

"Oh. In Omashu, the Earth Benders move their cargo around the city by using their bending. They have these stone carts that slide and use gravity to push and pull everything to where it needs to go through a collection of tubes and shoots. Aang told me that when he was a boy and he went there, he and King Boomi – before he was King – used to ride in the carts. He said it was terrifying, but really fun unless the cart loses control and goes off the track."

"And if it does go off the track?" Zuko asked.

"I don't know, try and use bending to correct it and hope I wouldn't die," Katara shrugged. "We tried it when we went there the first time but it went badly because it was the middle of the morning when all the deliveries were being made. Sokka was nearly impaled on some spears and Aang used air bending to haul us out of that shoot and into another one."

"And you want to do it again? You're crazy," Zuko said.

Katara laughed.

"Well, what would you do then?" she challenged.

Zuko was silent.

"I don't know," he admitted finally. He twitched slightly in their shared sleeping bag, shifting his arm to rest it across her waist before tugging her closer to him. "If there wasn't a war, my Father would never have been Fire Lord. He'd never have invited me to a war meeting and I'd never have spoken out of turn."

"That's not how the game works," Katara told him when another tremble went through Zuko. She shifted her arm across his waist, burrowing her hand under the hem of his shirt and smoothing her fingers up his back without thinking. "If we were playing "What would it be like without the war", then you could say those things. If we were playing that, I'd say that my Mother would never have been killed by the fire Nation. I'd say that she wouldn't have had to die to protect the last Water Bender in the Southern Water Tribe. But we're playing "If there wasn't a war, I would…" that means you have to say something you'd do if there was no war. Something silly, like eating a different cuisine across the Four Nations."

"I've already done that," Zuko told her.

"Well, don't brag about it. What's something you'd like to do if there was no war and we could all travel wherever we liked without fear?" Katara laughed.

"I don't know. I always wanted to swim with the giant Elephant Koi at Kyoshi Island," Zuko admitted.

"Aang did that. He nearly got eaten by the unagi."

"Serves him right," Zuko muttered.

Katara smacked him lightly.

"If there wasn't a war, I would travel to the air temples. Aang told me the monks used to make the most delicious cakes in the four nations. I'd love to have tasted one."

"You really play this game with your friends?" Zuko asked sceptically. "How do you think of things you want to try?"

Katara blinked.

"I don't know. We just do. Sokka's tend to revolve around food. Aang tends to list things he already tried, or things he'd like to have tried before the Air Nomads were destroyed. I've been making a list, actually, of all the things the three of us want to do. One day, when the war is over, we'll do them all – the ones we _can_ do, anyway."

"If there wasn't a war, I would probably be married by now," Zuko muttered. "Which makes me kind of glad there's a war."

Katara pulled back slightly.

"You're betrothed to someone?" she asked, frowning at him through the dark. She still couldn't see his face.

"I… was," Zuko nodded. "When I was banished, the betrothal was broken."

"Did you know the girl?" Katara asked nosily before realising how rude that was.

"I… yeah. Her name was Mai. The daughter of one of my father's governors. She used to play with my sister and another girl, Ty Lee, in the palace gardens when we were young."

"Is she your age?" Katara asked curiously. "What's she like?"

"She's seventeen now. She's… gloomy. She sighs a lot and very rarely finds joy or interest in anything at all."

"She sounds like a sociopath," Katara blurted before she could think better of it.

Zuko surprised her when he actually laughed, just a little.

"She was just raised very strictly. Be seen and not heard. Smile, but not too widely. Her father's political position often hinged on her ability to be prim, perfect and proper at all times because if she messed up, the betrothal contract would've been thrown out and her father would've been demoted," Zuko explained. "I don't know what your life was like, growing up with peasants, but in the Fire Nation, image and honour are very important. If Mai had ever put a toe out of line, she'd have been in trouble."

" _Did_ she ever put a toe out of line?" Katara wondered.

She couldn't see Zuko's smile, but she felt it when he managed to tug her body even closer to his.

"Only with me," he admitted.

"You… loved her?" she asked, her eyebrows rising. "Oh dear, she's not going to try and come after me for kissing her boyfriend, is she?"

Zuko actually laughed at her words, but it was a cold laugh.

"I doubt I'm capable of love, Water Bender. And if Mai loved me, she had a funny way of showing it. But we didn't have to be so proper when it was just the two of us. I was banished when I was thirteen, but she was technically my girlfriend by the time I left."

"So I kissed her boyfriend?" Katara asked, a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach over the idea of betraying the girl's trust, even when she'd never met her.

"She's not my girlfriend anymore," Zuko said. "And what do _you_ have to worry about? I kissed the _Avatar's_ girlfriend. Mai's not even a bender. At most she could probably throw a few shurikens at you."

"What? Aang's not my boyfriend," Katara blurted, jerking back from him further to stare through the darkness. Her cheeks flamed pinked at the very idea.

"You left your tribe to follow him across the bloody world. He's your boyfriend."

"He's not. If that was the only requirement for it, Sokka would be his boyfriend too."

"Who said Sokka's not?" Zuko asked and Katara swatted him.

"First of all, my brother likes girls, so I doubt it. Secondly, Aang is twelve. Avatar or not, I'm not a cradle-snatcher."

"The other bloke you travel with is your brother?" Zuko confirmed.

"Yes."

"So, you don't have a boyfriend? Didn't leave anyone behind at the South Pole?"

"The only boys close to my age were Sokka and a bunch of kids younger than Aang," Katara told him.

"So no one is going to try and take my head off for yesterday?" Zuko asked.

"Jet would likely take issue with the idea, but he's not my boyfriend either, and he's a monster."

"Jet?" Zuko asked, a hard edge coming into his voice. "Let me guess. About my height, not a bender. Carries a pair of fighting hooks and always has a stick of grass hanging out of his mouth."

"You've met him?" Katara blinked in surprise.

"Ran into him when Uncle and I were travelling over the border into the Earth Kingdom chasing the Avatar," Zuko said. "We had to part ways when he realised that Uncle and I are fire benders."

"Yeah, Jet hates the Fire Nation and any Fire Bender is fair game in his opinion. He tried to get me, Sokka and Aang to help him and his Freedom Fighters to destroy an entire village of innocent people just because there were Fire Nation soldiers occupying it. They blasted a dam wall and flooded the village. Sokka barely got everyone out of there alive."

"Funny that you think he'd have a problem with you kissing someone," Zuko said. Katara could feel his curiosity about what her relationship to Jet had been.

"Yeah, well. Took me a while to realise he was a deranged monster bent on nothing but revenge and looking for it in all the wrong places," Katara muttered.

"Bet the Avatar loved that," Zuko laughed coldly.

"What? Why would Aang care what I did with Jet?" Katara frowned.

"What _did_ you do with Jet?" Zuko asked nosily rather than answering her question.

"That's none of your business," Katara said.

"Well, if you hadn't been with a guy before him, based on the way you kissed me, I'd say you did a bit more than kissing him," Zuko needled. Katara's cheeks grew hot.

"I can feel you blushing, Water Bender," he laughed. Katara walloped him. "Ouch! Don't get violent with me just because you made the stupid mistake of spreading your legs for a nutcase."

"I…. Zuko!" Katara protested, her cheeks crimson.

"That's wasn't a denial," he said when Katara buried her head under the blankets. She pinched him. "Yeah, the Avatar was probably jealous as hell. He's in love with you, you know?"

"How would you know?" she asked, her voice muffled by the blankets.

"You mean other than that I stalked the three of you across the world?" he asked sarcastically. "I thought you were his girlfriend because every time I see him, he's making eyes at you."

"He's twelve!" Katara protested.

"He's male," Zuko said.

"Why are we even talking about this?" Katara demanded, walloping him again and pressing her cold feet to his legs in punishment. She didn't know what it was about the dark and the feel of their chi so intertwined, but the constraints of distance and daylight seemed to melt away.

With his hands under her shirt, it didn't matter that he was the enemy who'd chased her and her friends across the world. It didn't matter that he'd hunted them and made their lives hell. It didn't even matter that he was Fire Nation. Right then, it felt almost like being with a friend. Albeit a prickly, moody, angry friend who might set her on fire if she annoyed him, but a friend just the same.

"You asked me if I was dating anyone," he reminded her. "If I was betrothed, to be exact. I assume you're not? I thought that necklace you wear means you are?"

"How do you know about Northern Water Tribe customs?" she asked, stilling against him and tipping her chin up towards the direction his voice came from.

"I stalked you across the world," he deadpanned.

"You're weird."

"As though you aren't? Are you betrothed or not, Water Bender?" he demanded.

"What do you care?" Katara challenged.

"I want to know how much I'll be upsetting someone if we continue the charade of being a couple to make travelling and hiding easier," Zuko told her.

"What?" Katara rolled her eyes. "As though you care if someone would be upset about anything?"

"Of course I care," Zuko said. "If I can upset someone by kissing you, Water Bender, you better get used to being kissed."

"You're a horrible person."

"You're just realising this _now_?"

Katara suspected she might be losing her mind when a bubble of laughter escaped her at his words. She hadn't actually believed Zuko capable of playing with anyone. She couldn't help but giggle at the very idea. It just seemed absurd. He was angry; driven; determined to reclaim his honour by capturing Aang. He was sullen and moody and _always_ angry. She'd never imagined that under that constantly bubbling layer of fury and hatred for everything, he might have a sense of humour.

"I'm not promised to anyone. I might've been, if not for the war. The necklace I wear belonged to my grandmother. It was given to her by a water bender from the North Pole before she ran away."

"That's a shame," Zuko said. "I'd have enjoyed knowing I was antagonising someone every time I touch you."

"I hardly need a boyfriend for that to be a reality," Katara needled in return. "If Sokka spotted us right now, he'd probably murder you and lecture me for the rest of my life just for trusting you enough to share warmth."

"You're sharing more than warmth," Zuko muttered.

Katara narrowed her eyes on him.

"I can hardly be expected to trust you without sharing stories and secrets, Zuko," she said. She wasn't sure if he meant personal information or if he was referring to the way their chi brushed together. She didn't want to mention it, in case he couldn't feel it to.

In all honesty, she didn't want to mention it, even if he did feel it. It was strange and unheard of and alarmingly intimate. She didn't want to acknowledge such a thing with Prince Zuko.

"It's your turn," he told her after several long beats of silence where Katara's mind tried to wander toward recalling how it had felt to kiss him.

"My turn?" she asked.

"If there wasn't a war, you would…"he began the sentence for her.

Katara smiled. It seemed out of character that he wanted to continue playing. Indeed, it seemed strange that he wanted to talk to her at all. Maybe he'd been just as lonely without anyone to talk to and no friendly faces around him as she'd been without Sokka and Aang.

"I'd travel the coastlines of the entire Four Nations," Katara said. "I love my homeland, but sometimes it's nice to feel sand under my feet instead of needing to wear shoes to avoid losing my toes to the cold."

"Where would you start?" Zuko asked quietly.

"The Fire Nation," Katara answered immediately.

"Really?"

She nodded against his chest, burrowing into his warmth once more when a cold draught blew under the door to kiss her skin.

"Why?" Zuko wanted to know. Katara found her fingers tracing absent-minded patterns across his back.

"I don't know," she admitted. "I've just heard that it's beautiful. Is it true that the Fire Nation is taught that the war is a means for sharing your ways with the rest of the world?"

"Yes," Zuko whispered. "I didn't know until I was banished that the rest of the Nations hate us. All of us are taught that ours is the greatest and most advanced culture in the world and that we wage war to share our knowledge. We're taught that the other Nations are no better than savages. Your people are held up, most often, as the most primitive because of the way you live in your tiny villages in the South Pole."

"We didn't always," Katara said quietly. "Before the war… Before the Fire Nation captured all of the Water Benders from the Southern Water Tribe, we were once almost as prolific in our community as the Northern Water Tribes. But every year the war waged on, there were less Water Benders born to our tribe. Any who _were_ born were captured or killed by the Fire Nation. I'm the last one. There hasn't been a Water Bender born to my tribe in sixteen years."

Zuko was silent after that, seeming to drink in the magnitude of her admittance. His arm over her hip tensed and relaxed several time, as though he were clenching and unclenching his fists. When he slid her body impossibly closer to his own in the narrow sleeping bag, Katara found herself once again moulded to every inch of him.

"Can I ask you something?" Zuko whispered when she'd almost drifted off after what felt like hours later.

"Hmmm?" she hummed softly. Her mind felt fuzzy with the warmth of his touch and the relative safety of his hold.

"Do you think, if the war ever ends, that your people – that all of the other Nations – would… Do you think there's any way forward? Any way to repair the damage? If all the fighting stopped and the occupation within the other Nations ended, do you think there would ever be a way that the other Nations would forgive the Fire Nation?"

Katara blinked slowly.

"The Air Nomads might have a little trouble," she murmured. "What with there only being one left."

Zuko seemed to deflate against her.

"No, then?"

"I don't know, Zuko. I know that there are lots of people who are angry at the Fire Nation for all they have done and all they continue to do. For my people to forgive yours, any prisoner The Fire Nation holds would have to be released and your people would have to go a long way to make amends for what they have done. The other nations would need the assurance that whoever took over as Fire Lord after your father was a person they could trust. Someone who would do everything in his power to ensure peace – possibly even executing Fire Nation soldiers who have committed terrible war crimes."

Zuko's chin brushed the top of Katara's head as he nodded thoughtfully. Katara nuzzled her nose into his chest until she could press the tip to his warm skin. She sighed contentedly when she felt him trailing his fingers through her loose long hair.

"Goodnight, Zuko," she whispered against his collarbone.

She would swear as he returned the bid that he pressed a kiss to the top of her head.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Thanks ever so much for all your kind reviews and for taking the time to read this story. I hope you're enjoying it as much as I enjoy writing it. I love you all! xx-Kitten.**

* * *

 **Brightest Nights or Darkest Days**

 _By Kittenshift17_

* * *

 **CHAPTER SIX**

* * *

Zuko laid awake, his mind occupied with what Uncle Iroh would call the need to look inside himself. He wasn't sure he liked the notion, given what had sparked it, but he couldn't sleep for the thoughts pervading his mind. The slim Water Bender asleep in his arms was far more precious to her people than he'd believed. He'd go so far as to say that she was far more precious to the world. She was the last Water Bender of the Southern Water Tribe. She was the last hope her people had left, thanks to the horrors they had suffered at the hands of the Fire Nation.

The idea bothered him for one reason. She'd been nice to him. Of all the people currently residing on the planet, she was one of a small number who could claim a real bone to pick with Prince Zuko of the Fire Nation. He had hunted her across the world. He had chased her. Harassed her. Attacked her repeatedly. He'd done terrible things in the name of hunting down the Avatar, and yet she'd been nice to him. She'd _played_ with him.

And not in the sense that his sister 'played', or the way Ty Lee and Mai had played. No, Katara had played with him as though they were simply two kids from different nations who could be friends and do silly things. She'd thrown a snowball at him, for crying out loud. Nobody had ever done that. The only people who'd ever dared throw things at him were those he sparred with, his sister and his father. Everyone else was too fearful. And she hadn't thrown the snowball spitefully, but instead had done so in good fun.

She'd tackled him into the snow and when she'd smushed snow in his face and triggered a terrible flashback to his father burning his face, she'd been immediately contrite. He hadn't even had to tell her _why_ he'd grown angry. She'd known and she'd apologised. She'd _hugged_ him, even after he'd tried to choke her. No one ever hugged him except Uncle. And Uncle smelled unpleasant most of the time, so that hardly counted.

She hadn't asked for explanation, she'd even made sure to drag him inside so he wouldn't die, pouting in the snow. She was like no one he'd ever known. Worse still, she'd instigated a silly game of imagining what life could be like without the war. This was an actual game people played in the other Nations. They daydreamed about what life would be like if the Fire Nation wasn't waging war upon them.

Zuko felt sick to his stomach with the thought. All his life he'd been taught that his Nation was better than the others. More cultured. More sophisticated. More advanced. He'd never dreamed that the other Nations wouldn't _want_ to be like the Fire Nation. Now? Now, Zuko knew the truth. The Fire Nation was greedy and cruel. They took what didn't belong to them and cut down any who thought to stand in their way. They didn't spread their knowledge, they spread terror and suffering.

And yet, Katara could sleep in his arms. She'd been driven from her home by his people. Robbed of her mother because of his people. Left without her father, who waged war against the Fire Nation far from his homeland and his family. She was the last – the very last – of her kind. There might be other Water Benders at the North Pole, but even his brief time spent there had proved there were plenty of differences between the Northern and Southern Water Tribes.

In his time within the Earth Kingdom so far, Zuko had seen a number of things that made him angry – angrier than his resting state, anyway. As the Blue Spirit, he had terrorised his own Nation. As the Blue Spirit, he had been fighting against his own people and the barbarianism they practiced. He felt no remorse when he killed Fire nation warriors that deserved it. At least, none beyond the twinge of regret that somewhere, some mother or father or brother or sister would receive news that their family member had been killed.

Katara was right. If there was ever to be peace again, it would be hard won, and even harder to maintain. The hatred the other Nations had for his own was profound and well earned. The trouble? The nagging issue that was keeping him awake despite the feel of a beautiful young woman lying in his arms?

He was destined to be the next Fire Lord. The problems of the world would one day land in his lap and he was coming to the realisation that he would _not_ be following in his father's footsteps. He would _not_ continue to sacrifice lives for the sake of dominating the world and claiming it all under one flaming banner.

He liked the Earth Kingdom. Their culture was rich and they made delicious dishes. It might not be spicy, as everything in the Fire Nation tended to be, but it was still tasty. He liked the people, too. They lived simple lives – those he'd witnessed – and they were content with their lot in life as long as the Fire Nation wasn't involved.

Everything his mother had taught him as a boy about the importance of peace and prosperity and kindness was beginning to outweigh the urge he felt to please his father. Squeezing his eyes closed, Zuko pulled Katara even closer. His chi had enveloped hers, wrapping around the pleasantly cool feel of her and holding her to him in a way he couldn't describe. He tried to imagine what Uncle would say if Zuko admitted his thoughts and his strange interest in the Water Bender.

Probably something about how life was about balance, Zuko thought grimly, and what balanced fire better than water?

Katara made a soft sound in her sleep and Zuko glanced at her. He twisted the arm she was using for a pillow and flicked his thumb, creating a tiny flame to illuminate her face in the dark. Her tribal features were screwed into a frown, as though she were having a nightmare. She slept heavily, not reacting to the light. When she whimpered a second time, Zuko frowned, wondering how to comfort her without waking her up.

He had one hand up her shirt for warmth and he found his fingers smoothing over her soft skin lightly, tracing patterns. Her features relaxed at the touch and Zuko felt a small sense of victory when she settled into a deeper sleep, allowing him to better examine her features. She was stunningly beautiful, if he was being honest.

Growing up, he'd been taught that girls like Ty Lee and Mai and Azula were beautiful, but in comparison to Katara, they seemed plain, somehow. Individually he could admit they were all beautiful girls. But there was something about Katara's features that seemed so removed from theirs; better somehow. Prettier. Maybe it was her cute button nose that kicked up slightly at the tip. Maybe it was the rich olive shade of her of skin. Maybe it was those big blue eyes of hers – when they were open – that seemed to express her every emotion. He'd never seen anything like them outside of the Water Tribes. The point was, Zuko was certain that she was more beautiful than any of the girls he knew from the Fire Nation.

He snorted to himself when it occurred to him that maybe she seemed more beautiful to him because she wasn't on the Fire Nation's side – on Azula's side, to be exact. Shaking his head at his own traitorous thoughts regarding his nation, Zuko let the fire he held fizzle out. Settling his head more comfortably on his pillow and shifting slightly until he could slide his knee between both of Katara's, tangling their ankles, Zuko closed his eyes and sighed softly, waiting for sleep to come.

~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~

Katara's eyes snapped open at the feel of something sliding against her back.

"Zuko?" she asked in a whisper. The sliding stopped.

"Are you awake?" he replied.

"I am now. What are you doing?" Katara asked. Sometime during the night she must've rolled in her sleep and she currently found herself being spooned – or partially spooned – by the Fire Bender.

"Getting up," Zuko said. "The wind stopped. We need supplies."

"Is it dawn yet?" Katara asked.

"No."

"You were going to steal supplies in the dead of night?" she asked, frowning. "Without me?"

"I didn't think you'd want to come. If anyone recognizes us, they'll have to be killed and you don't seem the killing type."

Katara sighed.

"I've never done so in cold blood," Katara admitted, wriggling out of the sleeping bag behind him when he proceeded to flip it open and vault over her prone form to get up now that he knew she was awake and didn't have to worry about disturbing her. "But I'm sure I've caused the inadvertent death of a number of Fire Nation soldiers since encountering Aang and leaving the South Pole."

Zuko flicked his hand to light the torch he kept in his belongings to give them light to see while they both rugged up warmly in their travelling gear.

"Do you intend to leave town after gathering supplies?" Katara asked.

"Not until we can be sure the storm won't kick up again," he shook his head. "No use leaving in the middle of the night only to have the storm begin blowing again by dawn."

"What do we need?" Katara asked seriously, dumping out all of her belongings.

"Food, mostly. The best place to get it will be from the Fire Nation barracks on the outskirts of the village."

"You want to rob the soldiers?" Katara blinked at him. "They'll catch us."

"No, they won't. You need to hide your face," he said. Katara watched the way he glanced at her, warily pulling the Blue Spirit mask from the bottom of his bag before fastening it to his face.

Katara herself used a scarf to cover her entire face, but for a small slit for her eyes. She pulled her hood up to protect her ears and hide her hair. Zuko nodded at her, taking his weapons with him and disappearing out the door. Katara followed only a few steps behind.

The entire village was quite, the snow soft and powdery under foot. Only the few flickering lights from candles in distant windows guided their way, but Zuko seemed to know where he was going. Katara suspected he spent the first day in any new town memorising the layout and all its escape routes.

They reached the base in silence and Zuko flung out an arm, pinning her to a wall in the shadows when a pair of sentries walked past. They didn't notice the two of them and Katara watched the way Zuko crept to the doors into the barracks when the sentries had rounded the corner. He moved silently in that mask and Katara watched, intrigued when he slipped past the entrance and down the hall.

He seemed to have the layout of the barracks memorised and she wondered if he'd already been in, if he'd scouted it already, or if every Fire Nation barracks like this one was simply built off the same plan. He was quick about his work, light on his feet and careful, leaping into the rafters when they heard voices down the hall. Katara followed suit, hauled up by him to where they wouldn't be spotted when a pair of men dressed in sleep-attire wandered past.

She opened her mouth to ask if he thought they were going to the kitchens until she heard one of them say they'd enjoyed their midnight snack. Zuko dropped from the rafters when they gone and darted down the hallway. She was right behind him when they slipped into a store-room off the mess hall. He handed he a sack and pointed her towards the dried fruit, nuts, and raw produce sections while he made for the preserved meats.

Working quickly, she grabbed as much as she thought they'd each be able to carry, knowing that the next town was several days walk from this village. Zuko appeared beside her before she was finished, scooping up other things they might need including toilet paper and soap. He waved a knife at her and pointed her to a small cupboard in the corner of the room.

Katara frowned, not knowing what was in it and wondering why he was directing her to it when he could raid it himself. She didn't risk arguing with him about it. When she opened it, her cheeks flushed. It was filled with the number of extra items female soldiers might need. Feminine products, women's clothing replacements, including underwear, socks, and clothes made to fit smaller frames. There was also boxes of Golden Thread Tea – a contraceptive tea.

Katara bit her lip as she raided the cupboard, snatching out things that might be useful to her in her travels. She'd never needed to use a contraceptive tea before. Her fling with Jet had been a brief, one-time encounter and she'd had no other prospects that caused the need for such a tea. She didn't imagine she would need any whilst travelling with Zuko. Yet, the tea was hard to come by. It was very expensive to buy – something she, Sokka and Aang would never afford whilst travelling together, whether she had need of it or not.

The idea of leaving it when she could take it now didn't sit well with her, but neither did the idea of taking it whilst in Zuko's company. What if he got the wrong idea? What if _she_ had the wrong idea thanks to their weird chi connection messing with her head and the kiss yesterday being so good? Without the time to ponder the repercussions for taking or leaving it right then, Katara scooped a few boxes of the stuff into her bag along with everything else she wanted from that cupboard. If Zuko asked later or looked at her funny, she would simply point out how expensive it was to buy and stuff it in her bag.

Not that she thought he'd even ask. He wasn't Sokka – who was over-protective to the point of being a complete pain most of the time. Neither was he Aang – who was entirely too naïve and too inquisitive for his own good. Zuko might take note of what she'd grabbed, but like most boys he'd probably be too embarrassed by her need for menstrual things to even look until she'd put all of that stuff away. Katara was banking on that notion. She didn't even want to imagine how embarrassing a conversation it would be if Zuko asked her why she'd stolen contraceptive tea in his company. Then again, he was probably arrogant enough to think she might have a crush on him even though he was a rotten jerk who'd chased them across the world.

As soon as she had everything she thought they'd need, in as high a portion as she could carry, she looked over at Zuko. He was still raiding some of the cupboards looking for things that might come in handy. She was crossing toward him when the sound of someone jiggling the door-handle startled both of them. Katara glanced at him, wide-eyed but before she could even begin to panic, Zuko dove across the small store room and collided with her. He pulled her to the far corner of the room and shoved her down to squat behind a barrel of what looked like sea prunes.

Katara frowned when he slotted himself in right behind her, his whole body curling around hers protectively and forcing her into the even more cramped space. He never made a sound and Katara's heart raced inside her chest when the door to the store room opened. She watched from a peek hole around the barrel as a young female soldier walked in. She was dressed for sneaking around and Katara smirked. That messy bed-head look made her think she knew what the soldier was after at this time of night that she might not want anyone to know about.

The woman was fire bending a small flame to see by, just barely enough to light the space in front of her to see where she was going and find her way to the cupboard. Zuko positively vibrated with the need to escape and Katara had to grab his arm when the other woman tripped over a box of apples on her way across the small space. She wasn't paying any attention to her surroundings within the room, only focused on getting to the cupboard to get what she wanted, glancing regularly back toward the door in case anyone else had the same idea.

When Zuko shifted slightly as though he were intending to spring out and attack the woman Katara grabbed his wrist and pulled him even closer toward her. The woman was oblivious to their presence, it seemed. Zuko twisted his wrist in Katara's grip, trying to get loose. She held on tighter taking the dagger he clutched and tucking it into her boot before resorting to pressing his palm to her flat stomach and pinning it there with one of her thighs. He gripped her tight in annoyance, but still didn't make a sound. The woman fishing in the cupboard found what she was looking for. Katara watched as she withdrew a small metal canister from her pocket and opened a box of the Golden Thread tea. She upended the contents into the canister, filling it and concealing it in a way that it wouldn't be recognised for what it actually was. When she was done, the woman used her Bending to burn the box the tea had come in, incinerating it until there was nothing but a small pile of ash left.

Zuko squirmed against Katara again, obviously not liking the feel of waiting for the woman to catch them at any moment. But she never even glanced in their direction. She hurried back out of the store room, forgetting to properly latch the door behind her in her haste.

"Wait until she's gone all the way back to bed," Katara breathed to Zuko, refusing to let him loose.

He still didn't speak, but Katara could tell he was annoyed with her when he stood a minute later, hauling her up with him before reaching down and retrieving his knife from her boot. He pointed the tip at her in warning and though she couldn't see his expression behind his mask, she got the message loud and clear that he was angry and not to ever take one of his knives from him again. She rolled her eyes in return, hauling on her sack of looted supplies. He made for the door quickly, scouting outside of it before ducking through it. Katara followed without a word.

Skulking back through the base was harder when they were both hauling sacks of supplies. They wouldn't be able to vault into the rafters if anyone happened along. Zuko peeked around each corner, ready to kill anyone who got in their way. When they reached the door, he held up his hand, silently telling her to wait a moment. When he slipped out the door before recoiling quickly, she realised that the sentries were doing another round.

"Did you hear that?" one of them asked, tipping his head slightly. Katara watched carefully, wincing when they both brightened the torches they carried to illuminate more ground around them.

"Hear what?" the other one asked.

"Thought I heard the door."

"Probably Ling trying to sneak out and meet you," one of them ribbed the other. "Or than change-over crew. It's almost time for our shift to end.

Katara held her breath and kept her eyes fixed on Zuko when he moved silently. He slipped the handle of his bag into her grip before pulling his swords from their sheath. Realising he meant to kill them to get free, Katara shook her head at him. She tried to plead with her eyes, begging him to be still and quiet until they grew bored. She closed her eyes in horror when sound of more voices came from behind them down the hall. It must be almost time to change sentries, she realised. Zuko shot her a look, though she couldn't even see his eyes behind his mask, and Katara realised he was going to make a break for it. Gripping the handles of both bags and trusting him to be able to defeat the two sentries, Katara nodded.

As soon as he sprang out the door, swords flashing to the sound of surprised shouts from the guards, Katara bolted. She didn't stop to wait for him, trusting to him to be able to catch up with her. She raced into the night, struggling under the weight of both supply sacks. There was a sound of Fire Bending, a clang of swords and a wretched sounding gurgle behind her as she raced down a side street and into the heart of the village. Shouts followed, the sound of pounding feet meeting her ears. The guards had alerted more soldiers before Zuko could silence them and Katara cursed when she realised she was being chased.

A glance over her shoulder told her it wasn't Zuko. Cursing again, Katara panicked. She couldn't bend with both hands full and the sacks were too heavy, slowing her down. Darting around a corner, Katara made a snap decision. She was going to have to stash the sacks and come back for them later. Skidding around another corner, she spotted a trash can behind one of the house. Opening it quickly she was relieved to see it was all but empty. Lifting both sacks inside, she concealed the evidence of their raid, knowing she'd be able to find her way back. As she ran, she worked on uncovering her face, unwinding her scarf and searching the darkness for any sign of Zuko.

Soldiers could be heard calling across the village now, a full alert being issued thanks to the idea that the barracks had been robbed and the Blue Spirit had killed people. She'd spotted more than one person out and about as dawn rapidly approached, the reprieve from the weather driving people outdoors. If she could make it look like she was just out for an early morning stroll, she wouldn't be arrested. Katara squeaked in terror as she rounded another corner only to feel strong arms wrap around her from behind. One hand covered her mouth to prevent her from making a sound and Katara tried to stomp on her assailant's foot.

"It's me!" Zuko hissed in her ear, stilling her flailing instantly. Katara almost squawked a second time when he spun her in his hold, dragging her a ways down a dingy alley off the street where she'd been running.

He'd ditched his mask somewhere and just like she'd done, he'd tried to make it look like he was blending in. He'd discarded his long swords somewhere as well. The sound of pounding footstep from the soldiers racing past the alley drew her gaze but before she could focus on anyone, Zuko's hot hand cupped her chin and tipped her head up enough that he could plant his lips on hers.


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: I'm SO sorry about the delay on this chapter. As those of you who follow all of my fics will know, I was accosted with an extrememly obnoxious plunny for the HP universe and it refused to budge until it was completely written and I could begin posting it. I'm super thrilled that you've all been enjoying this story so much. Seriously, thanks ever so much for all the reads and reviews. You make my habit of writing these pairings all worth it, ya'll. Much love!**

 **xx-Kitten.**

* * *

 **Brightest Nights or Darkest Days**

 _By Kittenshift17_

* * *

 **CHAPTER SEVEN**

* * *

Katara was ashamed to admit she melted. He kissed her hard, tangling a hand into her hair and knocking her hood from her head even as his tongue swept into her mouth. Already panting from running, Katara was certain she forgot how to breathe for a few seconds before kissing him back. It occurred to her that he was only kissing her to make it look like they hadn't raided the barracks. That by doing so, they might look like rebellious teenagers who'd snuck out to rendezvous rather than like fugitives, but those facts fell by the wayside as heat seemed to suffuse her. His lips were warm and firm against her own, his free hand sliding up inside her coat and pressing her closer to him.

She found her own hands pulling at him, trying to get him even closer as instinct took over. She almost forgot that there were even soldiers after them, with him kissing her so soundly. His tongue tangled with hers and he pressed himself against her hotly, making her body react in ways she was certain she would blush over later. When her back hit the wall of the alley, he rocked himself against her and Katara's eyes rolled back in her head.

She lost herself in the feel of his lips and the taste of his tongue. She shivered with delight at the heat that radiated from him and she almost groaned at the feel of their chi brushing together when he rocked himself against her a second time. Dimly, she was aware of voices drawing closer, but she was too busy kissing Zuko to take any notice of them.

"Hey! You kids!" one of the soldiers called.

Zuko kissed her harder, tensing against her at the sound of the soldier's voice. It was a woman speaking and Katara supposed she should glance at them to better throw them off their trail.

"Hey! Lovebirds!" the woman tried again.

"Huh?" Katara blinked when Zuko pulled back from her lips and kissed his way along the length of her jaw, burying his face against the fabric of her coat to better hide his scar.

Realising he wanted her to deal with the soldier, Katara tried to focus bleary eyes on the woman. She dimly noted that it was the same soldier who'd raided the women's cupboard in the barracks and almost caught them.

"Did either of you see someone in a blue mask run by here?" the soldier asked.

"Hmm?" Katara asked, not even having to feign a lack of understanding for the question when Zuko lightly nipped her neck before drawing the flesh into his mouth and suckling at it.

"I said, did you see anyone run by?" the solider said and despite the questions, she didn't look angry.

"I... oh, god!" Katara pretended to spot the woman, letting her eyes bug wide and gripping Zuko tighter in a feigned panic. He tensed even further until Katara blurted, "Please don't tell my father you saw us!"

The soldier blinked in surprise.

"Not supposed to be out here, eh?" she chuckled.

Katara shook her head.

"Please? Please don't say anything? He'll be so angry with me," Katara pretended to plead.

"You didn't see anyone run by?" the woman asked, looking sympathetic and Katara fought a smile when the woman seemed to buy the act. Her own midnight sneaking to get her hands on Golden Thread tea obviously lent her a certain empathy to the idea of being inappropriate with someone she shouldn't.

"I didn't even hear you come up to us," Katara whispered, "Please. I snuck out when I wasn't supposed to."

The woman chuckled.

"You should pay better attention to your surroundings so you don't get caught," the woman admonished them. "Well, if either of you see anyone in a Blue Spirit mask, don't engage him. He's armed and dangerous."

"You'll keep my secret?" Katara pretended hopefulness, whimpering ever so slightly when Zuko nibbled her neck hard enough to draw blood to the surface in a love bite.

"This time, little one," the soldier smiled. "Thanks for your help."

She nodded her head and turned away just as Zuko lifted his head from Katara's neck to capture her lips once more, selling the idea that they simply couldn't keep their hands off one another.

"Did you check them?" another soldier, this one male, could be heard asking when the woman reached the mouth of the alley.

"Yeah, just a couple of randy kids hiding their relationship from their parents. Come on, he must've gone this way."

Katara might've laughed with victory if not for the way Zuko was kissing her hot enough to make her whole body tingle. When they could no longer hear their voices, Zuko pulled back from her slowly. His eyes glittered with something she couldn't describe when Katara blinked at him dazedly.

"What did you do with the supplies?" he asked, his voice low and husky even as he stood pressed so close that she could feel she wasn't the only one whose body had reacted to the heat of their kisses.

"Hid them. A few houses back there's an empty trash can behind a house," Katara whispered. "Where's your mask and your swords?"

"Hidden under a house a few streets over," he muttered. His eyes darted to her lips once more and Katara licked them self-consciously. "How did you know she'd buy the act of hiding from your father?"

"She was the one who broke into the cupboard in the store room," Katara whispered, spying another solider patrol out the corner of her eyes and reaching up on her toes to peck him on the lips again.

"So?"

"She was stealing Golden Thread tea," Katara murmured, dotting a line of butterfly kisses along the length of his jaw. Her stomach was doing somersaults and she was sure her heart might gallop right out of her chest to touch him so intimately yet so casually under the pretence of their facade. For his part, Zuko seemed rather gifted at making it look and even feel like he was into the idea of kissing her and touching her, yet when he spoke he sounded as though he were completely level-headed and as though he knew it was all just an act.

"What's tea got to do with anything?" he frowned, ducking his head slightly to press his lips to her ear when more soldiers walked by.

"It's a contraceptive tea women use to keep from getting pregnant," she explained in a low whisper. "There were boxes and boxes of it in that cupboard. She was stealing some in the dead of night, which means she's taking it in secret. Meaning she's likely carrying on a secret affair with another soldier or her commanding officer. Which, I'm assuming, is against Fire Nation army regulations. She was empathetic to the idea of a couple of kids hiding their relationship because she's hiding one of her own."

"You figured all that out from seeing a woman stealing supplies?" he asked. He sounded like the very idea baffled him. "What would you have done if she'd tried to use the information to blackmail you into helping her instead?"

Katara slid her hand up the back of his shirt and jiggled the knife she'd learned he kept tucked down into the waistband of his pants. His chuckle was cold and cruel and entirely unexpected in response to the idea.

"You got lucky," he muttered before tipping his head slightly and catching her lips again. Katara subconsciously pulled him closer, sighing against his lips and listening as more of the patrolling soldiers wandered by without disturbing them. She suspected the other guard must've tipped them off that they didn't know anything and so no one approached or interrupted the hot kisses he pressed to her lips.

She didn't know how long she stood there in the alley kissing him. Long enough that her jaw started to hurt and she was sure she could strip naked and not be cold with him so hot against her. Her mind kept trying to make arguments for what Sokka and Aang would say if they could see her, standing in an alley surrounded by Fire Nation soldiers whilst kissing the life out of Prince Zuko. Before even a single argument could fully form, he'd stroke his tongue against hers again and Katara would lose her train of thought.

"The sun's rising," he muttered sometime later, his husky voice breaking through the haze of euphoria surrounding her. "We need to get those supplies and get back to the house before we'll be spotted carrying them."

Katara nodded, realising he'd worked his hands under the hem of her shirt to grip the small of her back, their heat searing her skin deliciously.

"What about your swords and your mask?" she whispered.

"I'll get them," he murmured.

He seemed reluctant to step back from her even when doing so was the course of action they needed to take.

"Should we split up?" she asked. "Make them think the rising sun is driving us home before we can be caught?"

"Probably."

He pulled back from her slowly and Katara heard him sigh out a breath before he looked down at himself. She pressed her lips together to hold back her giggle when she spotted what his problem was, the faint bulge in his pants that she'd grown used to feeling against her making itself known to the rest of the world as he tried to walk. As though sensing the laughter she was holding back, Zuko glared at her and Katara snorted.

"Shut up!" he snapped.

"I didn't say a word," she protested.

"Your face did," he muttered, his own face glowing crimson with his embarrassment over the natural reactions of his body to hers. "Can you carry both supply sacks?"

"If I don't have to run, I can. But I'll draw attention heaving two huge sacks along the street," she replied.

He nodded.

"Which house was it where you stashed them? Show me," he nodded her ahead of him toward the mouth of the alley, pulling his hood up carefully to hide his face and his scar lest the soldiers spot it.

Katara did as he asked, holding back more giggles when he waited for her to go first before subtly trying to rearrange himself for ease of walking. Realising it would look suspicious if they didn't maintain the facade of being a couple besotted with one another, she slowed her steps until he drew level with her before looping her arm around his waist. He glared at her again before slinging one arm around her shoulders to better make them look like a couple.

"I'm going to make you pay for this," he warned when a tiny giggle escaped her at his sour expression.

"What makes you think I'm not already paying for it?" she blurted before realising what she'd said. Her cheeks flamed crimson at the idea of having him know that her body had reacted to the kissing and the touching, too.

He slanted a glance at her with one eyebrow raised before spotting her pink cheeks and mortified expression. Katara squirmed when his eyes travelled the length of her body to stare at the junction of her thighs. The many layers of fabric upon her person hid the dampness of her knickers, but she suspected he knew what she was dealing with just the same. When he began to laugh again, sounding entirely too smug for his own good, Katara walloped him once more.


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: Sorry for the delay on this one, you guys. I'm TRYING to keep to a chapter a week, but I picked I a few extra shifts at work this week and they've been eating into my writing/editing time. I can't wait to see what you make of this chapter, and I'm loving all of you who take the time to read and review. You're so sweet.**

 **Much love! xx-Kitten**

* * *

 **Brightest Nights or Darkest Days**

 _By Kittenshift17_

* * *

 **CHAPTER EIGHT**

* * *

They went separate ways after collecting the supply sacks and Katara couldn't be more relieved. Zuko was a smug jerk and she was thinking seriously about freezing him to a wall and leaving him to think about what he'd done. She hauled her sack back their camp, muttering to herself the whole way, his laughter still ringing in her ears.

It hardly seemed fair that he would scold her for laughing when he had a problem to deal with, but when she had a less obvious but no less uncomfortable issue of the same variety to suffer through, he laughed as though it were the best joke he'd ever been told. Muttering and hauling her sack of supplies, she was more determined than ever to reach their camp before him so she'd be able to unpack her sack and hide the Golden Thread tea. The last thing she wanted with him laughing at her for her body's attraction to his, was for him to think she'd nabbed contraceptives for any reason whatsoever.

It didn't even warrant thinking about that her body was only too interested in the idea of using the tea for its intended purpose from that very morning. Her cheeks burned at the very thought and she realised that she needed to find Sokka and Aang more than ever. The sooner she did, the sooner she could be free of Zuko and his infernal chi and his wretched warmth and his cursed lips. She'd thought Jet had been intoxicating when she'd met him but he had nothing on Zuko and _that_ , she decided, was a problem.

When she reached their hideout, Katara slipped inside and climbed the stairs quickly. She dumped the bag of supplies on the bed and made a dash for the bathroom before Zuko could return. He still hadn't by the time she was finished and Katara was grateful.

Upending the bag she'd used to steal everything, Katara's cheeks flamed even hotter when she realised she'd grabbed the wrong sack. This was the one Zuko had filled, mostly with meat, and therefor did _not_ have the tea inside it to be hidden with the rest of her things. Cursing out loud, Katara closed her eyes in annoyance. She almost jumped out of her skin when Zuko slipped into the room quietly and snuck up on her before she'd opened them again.

Lashing out violently in her surprise, he did not look impressed to have cold, stale tea from last night's drink whipping him on the forehead.

"Hey!" he protested before throwing a fireball at her that stopped just short of her nose.

"Don't sneak up on me!" Katara hissed at him, her bad mood getting the best of her.

"What's your problem?" Zuko demanded, eyeing her like she might've lost her mind in the last ten minutes.

"Nothing!" she snapped.

He rolled his eyes and looked unconvinced.

"Give me that!" she pointed to the sack he carried. "You grabbed my bag."

"I can see that," he replied. Katara would swear he looked smug about it too. "Did anyone follow you back here?"

"Did you see anyone lurking about downstairs when you came back?" she asked. Zuko shook his head. "Then obviously not."

He didn't say anything, but the look on his face let her know he didn't appreciate her sarcasm or her bad mood and Katara thought about water-whipping him again just for spite.

"We're leaving today," he warned her. "So pack your things and prepare to leave."

Katara made a face at him. She'd been entertaining notions of returning to bed once their supplies were sorted out. They'd been up half the night.

Zuko pack his own stuff in silence, separating the food supplies and everything they'd gathered in two. When he up-ended the sack of thigs she'd collected, his cheeks turned pink. Menstrual straps and other things tumbled out and he looked uncomfortable.

"Do I want to know what you need all this stuff for?" he asked when she didn't speak before beginning to stuff all of it into her bag.

"Do you want to know that more than my bending is affected by the cycle of the moon," she retorted acidly. Zuko made a face of disgust at the idea.

"Am I going to have to put up with your bad mood when that happens?" he demanded.

"I put up with your bad attitude every second of every day, Zuko! Deal with it!"

He scowled at her. "What? Are you having that issue now or something?"

Katara lobbed the nearest object she could reach right at his head. He wasn't expecting the blow and he growled in the back of his throat in fury when the box of Golden Thread tea hit him in the nose.

"I'll take that as a yes," he snapped. When Katara lunged for the box of tea, realising with mortification what she'd thrown, he snatched it out of her reach.

"What is this? Ah." His smirk was purely wicked. "This is the tea your new soldier-friend was hunting for."

"Give it back!"

Zuko held it up high so she wouldn't be able to reach it without standing up, his arms longer than hers. When she glared at him but didn't keep reaching for it, he held the package up to the light so that he could read it carefully, looking curious. Katara's cheeks burned with shame when he did so for an inordinate amount of time while she shoved the other two boxes of it into her bag.

"Don't leave them in those," he said even as he read the box.

"What?" she asked. She lifted her gaze to stare at him in confusion.

"The boxes are too obviously Fire Nation," he said. "Empty all of it into this."

Katara blinked in surprise when he handed her a small earthen tea box with several empty canisters inside. There were nine canisters in total, one labelled as White Jasmine tea and another as Ginseng. The rest were empty.

"Why do you have a mostly empty tea box?" Katara asked.

"Why do you have contraceptive tea?" Zuko asked in return rather than answering.

Her cheeks went crimson once more when he slanted a glance at her. She was surprised to see he looked curious under a layer of hostility, but not smug. Maybe he wasn't automatically assuming she's stolen it intent on seducing him. Katara supposed that, with a scar like his, he wasn't used to getting much female attention.

"I... it's very expensive to buy," she muttered. "I've never used it before but I remember Gran-Gran giving it to some of the women in the village before the men all went off to war. She always told me that until I was sixteen - the age for marriage eligibility in the Water tribe - I would not be permitted to use it, as I shouldn't have need of it before then."

"Then why now, Water Bender?"

"It was there," Katara shrugged. "I've been sixteen for months but when I was travelling with Aang and Sokka we couldn't exactly spare the coins to buy it and there wasn't need for it. It's not exactly easy to have a romantic life whilst travelling on a flying bison with a twelve year old and my elder brother. If I'd even suggested buying it, Aang would've been as naive as ever and not known what it was for until I spelled it out for him. And Sokka would probably have had an aneurysm at the idea of any boy looking at me sideways, let alone me needing to drink contraceptive tea."

"You weren't using it when you slept with Jet?" Zuko frowned at her.

Katara blushed even brighter at the casual way he said such a thing.

"I didn't need to," she admitted. "The same way I can feel my bending getting stronger with the moon, I can feel when I'm going to... you know... and so I'd have known if I _could_ get pregnant when I was with him. Luckily, I couldn't have at that point of the month - rather, doing so would've been an anomaly."

"When did you encounter him, again?" Zuko asked. Katara's face flamed again when his eyes dropped to her stomach - which was flat and toned and not at all beginning to thicken with pregnancy.

"Months ago," she answered. "So don't look at me like that. I'm not pregnant."

"This says it prevents pregnancy from occurring when it's already in your system at the time of... interactions, or can be used to terminate if pregnancy occurs. Maybe you should have some now."

"I'm not pregnant!" Katara said, mortified.

"You can't be certain. And it would be really inconvenient if you were, Water Bender."

"I'm not. When a woman is pregnant, her blood won't come during those months. Mine has come three times since I met Jet."

"Still," Zuko shrugged.

"Why are you pushing this?" she demanded, narrowing her eyes on him. "Do you _want_ me to drink it?"

Zuko lifted his head slowly to look at her before he answered. "Yes."

Katara blinked at him, a small frown of confusion marring her brow.

"You want me to take it... because...?" she raised her eyebrows at him.

"Don't give me that look," he snapped. "I'm not planning to seduce you out of your sarashi wraps."

"Then why would you want me to be drinking contraceptive tea, Zuko?" she asked, unsure if she should be relieved or offended by the disgust in his tone.

She watched him open the box of tea and dump the leaves into one of the canisters before he used a piece of chalk to write "Golden Thread" on the lid. He snatched the second and third box from her and dumped them into the same canister until it almost wouldn't close.

"If you plan to continue going along with the facade of us being a couple whenever we get into trouble with the Fire Nation soldiers, it would make sense for you to be prepared for all potential outcomes of that venture," Zuko answered carefully, not meeting her gaze.

"You just said you don't plan to seduce me," she replied, frowning.

"I didn't plan on kissing you half the night when we went on a supply run, either," he snapped. "But it bloody well happened out there, didn't it?"

"You think we'd have to go so far as actual intercourse for the sake of the façade?" Katara frowned at him.

She squealed in surprise when Zuko lunged at her, knocking her to her back on her sleeping bag before he gripped her chin between tight fingers.

"I think that if you have to ask, you've been underestimating the ruthlessness of the Fire Lord's army," he said coldly. "They would make us fuck while they watched just to make us uncomfortable. If they got it into their heads that they liked the look of you, they'd try to fuck you themselves. You're not with the Avatar now. There's no flying bison to whisk you away to safety when the soldiers come. There's no Aang to fly into the Avatar state to protect you, Katara. All you've got is your own bending abilities; what little fighting skills I can teach you, and me. Do you want to risk getting pregnant to a Fire Nation soldier if you're taken prisoner? Do you think they're all decent men who won't lay a hand on you without your consent?"

His amber eyes were cold, boring into her own with such an intensity that she was sure she might never be the same.

"Stop it, Zuko. You're scaring me," Katara whispered, feeling tears prickle in her eyes thanks to his tight grip and his terrifying words.

"Good!" he hissed. "If you get captured, you'll _wish_ you'd been drinking that tea, Water Bender. Worse, if we're both captured and they think you're in league with me or that you're really my girlfriend, they'll make you wish you'd never _heard_ of the Fire Nation. You said that the idea hadn't occurred to your brother or the Avatar that you drink this stuff? That it wasn't priority when you do your supply shopping? It should be. You're one of the most wanted criminals alive. You travel with the Avatar. You disrupt Fire Nations take-overs, fight the soldiers and otherwise upset the wagons of war. And you're the last Water Bender from the Southern Tribe - someone believed to have been wiped out years ago. You were already going to suffer if you were ever captured, Katara. Now? Travelling with the exiled and dethroned Prince of the Fire Nation? Faking a relationship - physical or romantic - with the second Most Wanted criminal in the Four Nations? They'll eat you alive."

A tear slipped from the corner of her eye and down her cheek to soak into her hair at the way he laid out the cold, hard truth of the life she was now living.

"I don't care what your intention for the tea was when you grabbed it, Water Bender. From here on out, you drink it for your own bloody good. Every day. Starting now." Zuko released her chin and levered himself off her, quick as lightning. He was on his feet and carrying the teapot out of the room to the nearest window before she could even form a sentence. When he returned, the pot was empty and he held it out expectantly, waiting for her to fill it with water once more.

Katara blinked more tears from her eyes as she flicked her wrist, summoning the magic within herself to pull the water from the snow outside and channel it into the pot. As soon as it was full, Zuko began fire bending to bring the water to a boil. He fished their two cups from his belongings and dumped the recommended amount of Golden Thread tea into her cup before pouring the water over it and waiting for it to steep. He even made himself a cup of Ginseng while he waited. Katara was silent, trying to control the urge she had to cry.

She didn't like thinking about all he'd said to her. She'd known, of course, that such a thing was a possibility while she'd been travelling alone. She'd known she was in danger if she wasn't careful. The idea that she would be in further danger as a result of associating with Zuko made her feel scared. Indeed, she was torn between fear of what being in his company if she was caught would mean, and the strange, niggling sense she had that if she was captured and he wasn't, he would do everything in his power to save her. She couldn't describe the sense she had that it was true, but as she watched his tight, controlled movements when he handed her the cup of tea he'd made for her - to the exact dosage the box said she should drink - she suspected he would slaughter battalions of his own people to rescue her from such a fate.

It was almost as though he felt guilty that her association with him might cause her trouble. She drank the tea he'd given her without protest, though she did make a face at the bitter taste of it.

"It tastes terrible," Katara complained just to fill the silence. Zuko glanced at her, having returned to packing his bag whilst sipping occasionally as his tea.

She wondered if he had taken ill when he silently picked up his cup and offered her the rest of his Ginseng tea to wash down the Golden Thread brew.

"I thought they'd have figured out a way to mix it with other, nice tasting tea leaves to properly mask the taste," Katara sighed. She'd momentarily tossed up the idea of refusing his tea because he'd been drinking out of it, but what did sharing a drink matter when they'd been swapping spit whilst kissing for nigh on an hour before dawn?

"Maybe that make it bitter so it's not consumed by mistake," he argued, handing her a small bag to carry some of the dried meats in so it wouldn't just flake all over the rest of her stuff. "I wouldn't put it past of people like my Uncle to try it by mistake if he was all out of everything else. One sip and he'd spit it out and refuse to drink it."

"Do you want to try it?" Katara asked when she noticed the way Zuko watched her pinching her nose to take big gulps of the hot liquid.

"It's for girls," he shook his head.

"A sip won't kill you," she said, holding the cup toward him and refusing to budge until he took it. His curiosity got the better of him and Katara watched his take a small sip before immediately spitting it on the floor and handing the cup back to her.

"Yeah, Uncle would never drink _that_ by mistake. It's lucky I labelled it for what it really is. I was going to just label it as "Katara's Tea" since I would know not to drink it, but when we find Uncle, he'll take back his tea chest and he'd have tried it just to find out what it is."

"He really likes tea, doesn't he?" Katara smiled. "I noticed while I was following you that you kept looking for him in tea shops. At first I thought it was because they're good for seeking gossip, but then I noticed that you always order tea, but never seem to actually like it when it's given to you."

"Uncle probably cares more about tea than he does about most other things in life," Zuko said. Katara watched the way a small, almost affectionate smile crossed his usually scowling visage. The expression transformed his whole face. Ordinarily, his bright amber eyes, his terrible scar and his fierce expression made him look angry and unapproachable. But with that small smile on his face, she could barely notice the scar.

It was almost as though the rare smile negated the scar completely. Katara opened her mouth to tell him he was much more handsome when he smiled, but she closed her mouth again just as quickly when she realised saying so would likely just anger him. Instead she took another gulp of the Golden Thread tea until it was gone and washed it down with the Ginseng.

"I'm sure he's fonder of you than he is of tea, Zuko," Katara said quietly when a little frown arranged itself back on Zuko's face after she washed and dried the cups.

"He is," Zuko admitted in a quiet voice. He looked conflicted over the idea, as though he were worried that he'd never see his Uncle again and Katara smiled to herself.

"You miss him," she said. "I miss my friends too. I've spent so long relying on them for comfort and company that being away from them is hard. I know that you and I don't exactly see eye to eye, Zuko, but for the purpose of travelling together I'd like it if we weren't constantly hostile to one another. You might not be familiar in the sense that we're friends, but you're more familiar than the thousands of faces I've never seen before. Even if you _did_ try to kidnap my friends and hurt me and my brother to do it. Repeatedly."

Zuko looked over at her, a glare on his face once more. She could tell he was still conflicted over the idea of travelling with her, but that he too was sick of travelling alone.

"Just stay out of my way and don't draw unnecessary attention to either of us, Water Bender," he said.

Katara smirked.

"Should we discuss the other issue now, or wait until we're better rested?" she asked, raising one eyebrow at him as she piled all the food she could carry into her bag, stuffed her clothes inside and began rolling up her sleeping bag.

"What issue?" he asked warily. He narrowed his eyes on her.

"The part where, technically, we're enemies. Enemies who've been kissing each other."

"You said yourself that it was for the sake of hiding our identities so we don't get caught by the Fire Nation soldiers," he protested.

"And it is. I just want to figure out how far you intend to push the boundaries of what's for hiding your face so no one recognises your scar. I don't want you to get the wrong idea about me drinking this infernal tea you're forcing me to drink," Katara said.

Zuko narrowed his eyes on her.

"I doubt I could _force_ you to do much of anything, Water Bender," he growled. "So don't accuse me of forcing medicinal tea on you. It's for your own confounded good and it was _you_ who stole the terrible stuff in the first place."

"Don't get so defensive," Katara sighed, rolling her eyes. "I'm not accusing you of anything and I'll drink the wretched tea because you're right. Before I ran into you, I'd barely slept in weeks for fear of being assaulted or kidnapped. _You_ were the one who said something about the soldiers pushing us far enough to have sex, Zuko. So I want to know what, exactly, you're planning to do in regard to travelling with me."

"Are you suggesting that you think I'm going to force myself on you?" he demanded, his temper flaring immediately.

"I'm suggesting that you said they might _make_ us!" Katara snapped. "For once could you stop being so buggering sensitive and be straight with me? What is your plan? So far every time we've kissed it was because the soldiers might've recognised us or accused us of things otherwise. So far, we've pretended to be a young couple who were separated and then reunited thanks to the storms, and a couple disobeying their parents to carry on a relationship."

"Are you saying you _want_ to be my girlfriend?" Zuko asked, his eyes narrowed hatefully.

"I'm saying that I need to know if you're going to get your panties in a twist every time we have to fake it and whether you only intend to do so under pressure on the fly like what happened this morning. Do you only want to use the cover story of being a couple when kissing helps hide your identity? Or do you intend to have everyone we encounter from here on out thinking that?"

Zuko kept glaring at her for so long that she was sure her cheeks had turned pink.

"What do you want to do?" he asked.

Katara blinked at the question, confused by why he would even put it on her without giving his personal feelings on the matter.

"I think that if we pretend to be together, people will ask less questions. It will make doing things like sleeping at Inns easier since this isn't really ideal weather for camping. _But_ if we tell everyone we meet that we're a couple, it will confuse the people we're searching for. Aang and Sokka would dismiss a lead about a couple travelling together if they followed after me and heard gossip about it. Your Uncle probably would too, since you're not known to have a girlfriend. If they're following us, they'll overlook the story of us as a couple and search elsewhere."

Zuko looked thoughtful. He frowned as he rolled up his bed-roll while Katara pulled a strip of jerky from the pile still waiting to be packed or tucked away into pockets and pouches on their combined persons. She chewed it as she stared at the Prince of the Fire Nation.

"We tell people who ask that we're together," he muttered finally. "They'll assume it anyway, so most won't ask. I think you should use your real name. The Wanted posters for you don't actually list your name, so if you leave your name with people in each place, your brother and the Avatar will follow stories of a girl by your description and your name. I can't use my real name, but I've been going by Lee and Uncle has been going by Mushi since the posters went up labelling us both traitors to the Fire Nation."

"Do you want me to call you Lee?" Katara asked.

"In public," he nodded. "Where no one else can overhear you, Zuko is preferable. But I don't think any of them are following us. I think we'll find them first. That sky beast won't be able to fly in the weather conditions we've been having, so if they're travelling at all, it will be on foot. How did you get separated from them anyway?"

He picked up the remaining items on the floor when her pockets where all full and tucked them away, chewing his own strip of jerky. He nodded her down the steps ahead of him, leaving nothing inside the room they'd used for two nights.

"We were flying on Appa when the blizzard hit," Katara admitted. "Appa was descending towards land, but I was blown from his back when a tornado of snow hit. Aang was trying to keep Appa and Momo from getting lost in the winds, and Sokka was almost torn loose from the saddle. When I tried to grab him, I missed and I was blown free. They were carried away in the tornado while I was flung free. I search all the nearby areas when I could move after my landing – I was pretty banged up – but there was no sign of them. I think Aang was so busy trying to get us all to safety that he didn't notice I was missing until after getting the others free of the tornado."

Zuko walked abreast with her when they reached the street, seeming to agree without speaking on the direction they were heading.

"How did you and Iroh get separated?" she asked in return.

"We had a stupid fight," he admitted. "We were at odds over what we should do next. He wanted to go to Ba Sing Se as refugees and blend into the city until the search for us was dropped. He was also content to get there by begging for coins and living off the bare essentials we could afford. I wasn't."

"You went out to steal supplies and the storm hit before you could get back to him?" she guessed.

Zuko nodded. "By the time I could travel again, it had been almost a week. I returned to where he'd been, but he was gone. I've been looking for him, but drifting toward Ba Sing Se. If he's doing the same thing, thinking I'll be heading that way, we'll eventually run into each other on our way into the city."

"I thought you were headed that way," she said. "We were heading for Ba Sing Se too. We went back to Omashu to have King Bumi teach Aang Earth Bending, but the city had been invaded and Bumi was taken captive. Having to find someone else, we were going to search Ba Sing Se for someone to teach him."

"Will they head that way?" Zuko asked.

"They'll be looking for me," Katara shrugged. "They might do the same thing you think Iroh will do, travel to the city thinking I'll do the same."

"So Ba Sing Se is our destination?" he confirmed.

"Well, not _today,_ " Katara laughed. "Going on foot, in this kind of weather? It could take us months to reach Ba Sing Se, Zuko."

"I know," he grumbled. "So, I guess you'd better get used to me."


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: You guyes have been so wonderful, taking the time to read and review. Thanks ever so much for all your love and praise. I'm so glad to know I'm not the only one still hung up on Zutara.**

* * *

 **Brightest Nights or Darkest Days**

 _By Kittenshift17_

* * *

 **CHAPTER NINE**

* * *

By nightfall, they were both tired and cranky. Zuko glared at the Water Bender he'd been coerced into travelling with. It had been many long hours since he'd pressed her into the wall before dawn and kissed her until his groin ached. It felt like it had been even longer since he'd had a decent sleep.

He was tried; he was cranky because the wind was picking up again and looked like it might force them back the way they'd come; and he was thinking about throttling the littler Water Bender. She flip-flopped between chattering animatedly, even when he didn't want to talk – something that reminded him a little too much of his Uncle – and being as cranky and volatile in her mood swings as Zuko himself.

He was cold and he was sick of plodding through the snow, even after Katara used her Bending to clear them a path. He wanted to go home. He wanted the security of his ship from before his crew had been confiscated and the ship blown up - before he'd been labelled a traitor. He wanted to warmth of the Palace in the Fire Nation from before he'd been banished. He wanted a warm bed on soft downy pillows and to not have to lug around enough furs and warm clothing to hang himself with.

Worst of all, he wanted the intoxicating feel of that chatty little Water Bender pressed against every inch of him until he couldn't tell where his body and his chi ended or where hers began. He wanted to crawl back into his sleeping bag and hold the little brat until he was warm and then he wanted to strangle her for being such a pain in the ass.

And _that_ , he decided, was a problem. He shouldn't be this intrigued by her. It might have been a long time since he'd had a girlfriend and it might've been even longer since he'd laid a hand on a woman he didn't have to pay for the privilege - something he was extremely bitter over - but he shouldn't be this interested in the bloody Water Bender. Pretty or not, she was the enemy. Well, not _the enemy_ , but she was working with the Avatar and if Zuko ever wanted to return home, he would have to capture or kill the Avatar to do it. He was thinking Katara wouldn't be too pleased with him for either option and so it simply wouldn't do to go getting attached.

"We should make camp," the annoying distraction said. Zuko did his level best to tear his eyes from her ass, which he'd been ogling as she walked in front of him to bend the snow out of their way.

"Here?" he asked sceptically, glancing around the area and seeing nothing but snow covered trees and boulders. "There's no cover. We need to find a cave or something. My tent isn't going to hold up against the wind if it picks up any more."

She smirked at him over her shoulder.

"Come with me," she said. Zuko watched her step off the road and away towards some of the trees. He wasn't in the mood for a demonstration or some argument about sleeping outdoors, even if there really wasn't another option.

"What are you doing?" he demanded.

"Just watch," she smiled. "You're about to get a lesson on Southern Water Tribe housing structures."

Zuko raised his only eyebrow, not at all liking the idea of whatever she might consider a house when she was some peasant from the bottom of the world. He watched in silence as she began to Water Bend, pulling the snow from the surrounding area and turning it to ice. It took shape slowly; a small, domed structure made entirely of ice. There was a narrow archway that pass for the entrance and a small hole in the top, which Zuko suspected was to allow air in and smoke out. He recalled seeing such structures at the South Pole when he'd first located the Avatar.

"Why is it so small?" he asked, frowning when she completed her Bending with a pleased smile.

"The smaller sizer helps keep the heat in," she explained. "If I made it big - the size of a palace or something, there would be more of the structure to heat. An igloo this small can be heated with body heat alone, if there isn't anything to burn to make a fire. Of course, we have plenty of kindling for a fire, but since there is only the two of us, and it's only for this evening, there's not much point making something bigger. We only need enough room to sleep and to have a small camp fire to keep us warm and cook something for dinner."

Zuko rolled his eyes at her practicality.

"You _live_ in one of these where you come from?" he asked her.

"Yes," she nodded proudly. "I've never been able to make one with my Bending before. Or more accurately, I've never had to. Before I met Aang and left the South Pole, I was still very new to my bending. Since then, a tent has always sufficed. It's nice to be able to use my bending to make my own house, though. Come on, help me find some kindling to make a fire."

She strode to a nearby tree, picking sticks up from the ground that had been exposed as a result of her bending the snow that had been piled on top of them.

"All of this is damp," he grumbled. "It will take forever for it to light."

He watched with no small amount of annoyance when she used her Bending to pull all the water from the sodden wood until it was dry as bone. When they had enough wood to last the night, she crawled through the small archway and into the structure. Zuko sighed before following her. He didn't have high hopes for it being warm or comfortable. When he crawled into the igloo behind her, he hid his surprise. It was roomier inside that he'd expected. Nothing like his quarters on his ship, but by no means a closet.

She was using her Bending to create a fire pit from the snow on the ground inside the igloo, leaving the space dry and free of the wet stuff he was already sick of.

"I miss the sun," he complained, dumping his bag and his pile of wood on the floor and nudging her out of the way when he saw her attempting to make a fire. Obviously she'd forgotten for a moment that he was a Fire Bender and that fire stones weren't necessary.

She didn't complain at the touch. Zuko noted that she simply moved over to her bag and withdrew what he suspected was usually her tarp. She laid it out on the ground on one side of the fire pit as a ground cover before unrolling her sleeping bag on top of it. He hid a smirk when he watched her help herself to _his_ sleeping bag, unrolling it next to hers and puttering about the small structure. Ordinarily he would've protested anyone touching his things, but the way she did it, without even a thought of how it might annoy him, amused him more than it should. That, and he kind of like the fact that she rolled them out next to each other, either intending to sleep right next to him or planning to share his with him as she'd done the night before. If he was being honest, Zuko didn't even know which he'd prefer.

Sharing with her was warm and her body heat was filling him with his Bending power once more, replacing his need for the sun to awaken his powers and maintain them. On the other hand, he shouldn't be wanting to crawl into his sleeping bag beside this girl he barely knew – especially when they'd tried to kill each other in the past. Zuko shook his head, beginning to suspect he had a problem that would likely take years of therapy to unravel whenever he got back home. _If_ he ever got back home.

It was clear to him as he set up the fire and used his bending to light it, that Katara felt more at home in one of these things than she did anywhere else. When she began humming to herself whilst unpacking her bag, fishing out pots and pans and a small knife, Zuko looked on with a strange sense of amusement niggling at him. Since his ship and his crew had been confiscated, he'd grown used to having to cook his own food - something he was _not_ very good at. But there was something about watching her that cured some of his bad mood. She looked entirely too content inside the small, icy dome.

He watched as she sliced up some vegetables before bending water from outside and channelling it into a stewing pot. She followed it with some meat, throwing it all into the pot and setting it over the fire to stew. Zuko glanced around, wondering what he should be doing. In the palace and aboard his ship, his food had simply been delivered to him. When he'd been on his own and with his Uncle, he'd had to help with the cooking process but Katara seemed much more efficient at cooking than him or Iroh. Shrugging to himself, he took the teapot from his belongings and crawled back out of the igloo. It wasn't ideal to have to melt the snow himself but he piled a few handfuls of the powdery stuff into the pot and crawled back into the dome before fire bending it to make tea.

She glanced at him a few times, offering him hunks of vegetables and pieces of bread to nibble on as she cooked their evening meal.

"You live like this, don't you, Water Bender?" Zuko asked a little while later when he resorted to sitting on his sleeping bag and sipping his tea.

"Yes," she smiled. "When the men of my tribe went off to war, there were only the women and children and the elderly too old to fight who were left behind. Most of the women were pregnant, so I got used to having to care for the children, pick up after Sokka, mind my Gran-Gran and do most of the chores. Honestly, being inside this thing is the closest I've come to feeling at home in a long time."

"You didn't feel at home when you were at the North Pole?" he frowned.

She looked up at him for a moment, stirring the stew and eyeing him strangely.

"No," she admitted. "I didn't really notice at the time but now that I think about it, I didn't feel at home there. You came to my village in the South Pole. You saw how we lived. Igloos and tents were the extent of what we could build. Without any capable water benders and with so few materials at our disposal, we had to build them by hand. At the North Pole it was like being in any other city made from stone or wood. It might've been made of ice, but the buildings were modelled on Earth Kingdom homes. They just didn't feel the way this does."

"You mean this one-roomed, tiny dome of ice where you sleep on a fur on the floor, rather than on a real bed or even a sleeping platform?" he scoffed.

"I could make a sleeping platform, but it would be made of ice and would melt under our body heat if we slept on it," she pointed out.

Zuko supposed she had a point. He watched as she returned her attention to their dinner, humming a song he'd never heard.

"What are you humming?" he asked when his curiosity got the best of him. Uncle had a tendency to hum too, while he drank his tea or played Pi Shoh. He could usually pick the song and recall the words when Uncle did it, but Katara hummed songs he didn't know.

"A Water Tribe song," she said, looking up at him again. "I didn't even realise I was humming. It's something Gran-Gran used to do when she was doing her chores. Am I bothering you?"

"No," Zuko shook her head. "I just don't know the song so I can't imagine the words."

"Would you like to hear them?" she asked, looking surprised by his friendlier tone given that he'd been snapping at her all day.

Zuko thought about it.

"Are you any good at singing?" he asked.

She snorted.

"Sometimes, I manage to forget that you're a prince," she chuckled. "Then you say something that defies what everyone else would consider manners and I remember again."

"Why? Because I didn't agree to listen to you singing without finding out if you're rubbish at it?" he frowned.

"Yes. Most people would politely decline if they didn't want to listen, or suffer through listening in silence, even if I was terrible. You rudely ask if I'm any good before deigning to accept or decline the offer to hear one of the songs of my people."

"Well, I don't want to listen if you're rotten at it. Why torture myself?"

Katara laughed and Zuko wondered if she found his words genuinely amusing or if she was laughing at him for being rude.

"I have an alright singing voice," she said. "At least, by Water Tribe standards. Do you want me to sing, or can I go back to humming, _your highness_?"

Zuko made a face at the way she spoke the address of someone befitting his royal birth. For some reason the idea of having her call him that made him uncomfortable.

"I was stripped of my titled when I was banished, Water Bender," he sighed. "My Uncle may refer to me as Prince Zuko as a formality but I'm technically no longer the Prince of the Fire Nation. Until I reclaim my honour and restore myself in my Father's eyes – which I must do if I ever want to reclaim my throne - I'm just a banished Fire Bender. You don't have to call me 'Your Highness'."

She snorted at his explanation and Zuko frowned before realising when she shot him a bemused look at that she'd had no intention of referring to him by his title in a respectful manner. She'd done so to annoy him because he was being a snobby bastard. Zuko found his lips twitching in amusement rather than anger as she stirred their stew once more.

"Don't give me that look," he chided, smirking. "Now sing for me, peasant."

"Call me peasant again and see where it gets you," she retorted. "I might not be some fancy princess by Fire Nation standards, but I _am_ daughter of the Tribe Chieftain."

"Head peasant is still a peasant," Zuko smirked at her.

She threw a spoon at him. Zuko dodged it easily even as he began to laugh. He waited in silence after that, watching her gather her courage to the idea of singing out loud with him listening. He didn't delude himself to think that it was as simple as opening her mouth and letting the words out. He'd been pressed by his uncle many times during their four years searching before they'd found the Avatar to sing out loud with other people listening. It hadn't gone well.

When she did finally open her mouth, her voice wasn't bad. It wasn't anything to write home about, but she could carry a tune well enough. She sang in a haunting high voice, weaving a tail about a young Water Bender's fight for the freedom to marry who she wanted to, rather than who her Tribe Chieftain chose for her. Zuko listened silently, closing his eyes to better hear her song and ingest the words. He could tell she was grateful that he'd done so when her voice grew a little stronger and surer without his gaze fixed on her.

He listened and he waited for the song to end, realising even as she sang that though her people were considered little more than peasants in the eyes of his people, their culture was rich and expressive. More so than his own. The Fire Nation might once have been a place where singing and stories and great tales of love and loss were born – at least, that's what Uncle said – but the Nation he recalled knew nothing of such things.

When she trailed off at the end of the song, Zuko opened his eyes to watch her once more. Her cheeks were flushed slightly, perhaps with embarrassment, perhaps with happiness at the recollection of her people. It bothered him a little that he didn't have any fond memories of his own people the way she seemed to. All of his memories of his time at the palace involved his father being horrid; his sister being cruel; his grandfather being utterly dismissive and his mother being taken away from him.

 **~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~**

Katara bit her bottom lip amid the silence that followed her performance. She used her bending to channel some of the stew into cups for each of them when it was ready, noticing idly that Zuko seemed to have reacted poorly to her song. Not as though he hadn't liked it or that he thought she was a terrible singer.

His brow was furrowed into a deep frown and he watched her without seeming to see her. His eyes flashed occasionally with warring emotions and she suspected that his glimpse into life in the Southern Water Tribe had triggered memories, good and bad, of his own Nation's traditions and legends. From the look on his face, she was thinking most of them were unpleasant.

When she tried to hand him the cup of stew, he didn't take it and Katara frowned.

"Zuko?" she asked softly, setting down her own cup and touching his arm lightly.

He blinked as he came back to himself, his eyes darting to hers and one of his fists clenching, ready to bend at her should she prove a threat. She held his cup out to him in silence before handing him a hunk of bread to dip into it when he took it from her.

"Thanks," he muttered, looking down at the food.

Katara thought about trying to make conversation, but she doubted she was going to get much out of him. He was frowning even as he tore into his bread and began dipping it into his stew. Her stomach was cramping with hunger too, after the long day spent walking, carrying her heavy pack, and bending the snow from their path so that they wouldn't lose their way. Tolerating Zuko's foul temper and bitter moodiness whilst doing so had left her with quite the appetite. She found herself tucking into her stew heartily, going back for a second helping when the first was gone.

Zuko did the same, looking like the long day had taken something out of him, too. It had been a long time since he'd woken her trying to sneak out of the sleeping bags to steal supplies and Katara was ready to turn in as soon as she'd finished eating. Moving the stew-pot from over the heat of the fire and covering it, she figured that letting it continue to stew overnight would make it taste all the better, come morning.

Night had well and truly fallen when she took both of their cups and crawled to the entrance of the igloo she'd made, bending more snow to rinse their cups before returning.

"The wind is picking up out there again," she said quietly to Zuko when she returned. "Do you want me to close off the entrance completely?"

"What would you usually do?" Zuko asked.

"If I was at home and a blizzard was coming – before I discovered my bending – I'd have had to work with the others to ensure we wouldn't all be frozen inside our homes and trapped. The entrances would be kept clear of ice and snow, covered with animal skins to block out most of the wind. Now that I can bend, sealing the entrance almost all the way won't be an issue. The only thing we have to worry about is making sure that there's enough air for the two of us and to maintain the fire."

"Isn't that what the air hole at the top does?" he asked.

Katara nodded. "I'll have to keep an eye on that to make sure it doesn't close up during the night, but I want to leave the entrance open a little for the air flow. But not all the way. Who knows what the scent of our food might lure out of the woods? In this weather, I don't imagine many of the wild creatures are faring very well. We don't want to end up with an Armadillo-Bear trying to burst in on us during the night."

Zuko nodded.

"Block it most of the way. Do the walls need reinforcing to withstand another blizzard?" he asked.

"I don't think so. They're two feet thick all the way around. Unless a tree blows over and lands on it, it will hold," Katara said seriously, bending the snow to partially close the entrance. It went against her nature to do so, given what she learned in the South Pole as a girl, but she did it with the knowledge that she could liquefy the entire igloo if need be.

When she turned to look back at Zuko, he was in the process of stripping out of his coat and his other layers of clothing until he wore only his sleeveless tunic and his pants. Katara sighed tiredly before doing the same. She froze in the process of pulling her coats off until she wore nothing but her tunic, when Zuko suddenly started sniggering.

"What are you laughing at?" she demanded, turning questioning eyes on him and finding him watching her as he laughed.

"I forgot about that," he commented.

"What?" she asked.

He crooked a finger at her and Katara narrowed her eyes on him, not at all liking the wickedly amused expression on his face. Shuffling closer across the sleeping bags, she watched him lean toward her and prod the side of her neck.

"You've got a love-bite," he laughed. "Right here."

Katara's cheeks heated immediately as she clapped a hand over it in mortification before remembering that _he_ was the one who'd given it to her.

"You gave me a love bite?" she hissed furiously.

Zuko laughed even harder at her sudden fury, looking like she'd told the best joke he'd heard in years. He nodded as he laughed, watching with amusement as Katara clawed at her own flesh, wishing she had a mirror to inspect her reflection.

"When the soldier was questioning us this morning," he said. "I forgot I did it until just now."

She was sure her cheeks were crimson as she shoved at him in annoyance.

"Well, don't do it again!" she snapped. "Imagine if we ran into Sokka and Aang right now! They'd kill you."

Zuko had the audacity to roll his eyes.

"They couldn't if they tried, Water Bender. And I'll do whatever I have to if it makes _this_ ," he wiggled a finger between the two of them. "Look more legitimate that you're my girlfriend. If it will save us, I'll do it as often as I need to."

Katara narrowed her eyes on him in annoyance.

"Sometimes, I really don't like you," she grumbled before pulling the rest of her things off until she was dressed in only her pants and her sarashi wraps on the top half. It was entirely too hot in the small igloo with their fire crackling away merrily under Zuko's supervision.

"I know," he smirked. "What? You're sleeping naked with me now, too?"

He eyed her lithe form critically.

"Don't be a jerk!" Katara snapped. "It's warm enough in here that I was sweating in my coat. I don't imagine being in a sleeping bag will be pleasant when it's this warm in here. And who said anything about sleeping _with_ you?"

Zuko scowled at her.

"I did, Water Bender. If you want to pull off the idea of pretending to be my girlfriend, you'll have to share a bed with me."

"There's no one here to see if we do or we don't," Katara argued. "The last two nights were spent that way because it was too cold _not_ to."

"And when I do this?" he asked.

Using his bending, he dimmed the fire to a soft glow.

"Why would you do that?" she asked, frowning.

"Because the walls of this thing are beginning to melt," he said. He pressed his hand to the icy wall before showing her the moisture upon his palm.

"If I open the door again, it will cool back down," she suggested. "We never had this problem at the South Pole."

"That's probably because your whole continent was made of ice and snow. You're on the ground here, rather than an ice flow. And if you open the door, who knows what kind of critters will get in?"

"Won't the fire go out if we burn it that low?" she asked.

"Not if I keep an eye on it," Zuko said.

"What about when you fall asleep?"

Zuko rolled his eyes.

"It's not cold enough that we'll die without waking up, Water Bender. I'll just use my bending to re-light it if it goes out."

Katara huffed out a breath.

"I still don't see why I would have to sleep in your sleeping bag with you again when it's warm enough that sharing body heat isn't necessary for survival," Katara said stubbornly.

"You draw your bending power form the moon, right? Zuko asked. Katara frowned at him.

"You know I do," she said.

"And I draw mine from the sun," he said. "Only, there hasn't _been_ any sun for weeks now."

"It's there, behind the clouds," Katara frowned, unsure what that had to do with sharing a sleeping bag.

"It is, but it's weak. Meaning that my bending is decreasing in power. I have to find another means in this infernal blizzard for maintaining a relative level of heat inside myself to be able to bend."

"Every time I touch you, it's like touching a furnace," Katara rolled her eyes.

"For you. Not for me," he said. "I'm still cold, even with the walls sweating in here. Absorbing your body heat and generating more with you is probably the only thing that allows me to keep bending, right now. This blizzard has a spirit world feel to it and I'm thinking it's invoked with the need to rid the world of Fire Benders until the war is over."

"You think you'd lose your power without sharing body heat with me?" Katara asked, surprised at the idea.

"I wouldn't lose it forever, just until the blizzard ends. Like a solar eclipse, too long without the sun and Fire Benders are diminished in their power. If there was ever a way to slow the wheels of war, this will be it. Without bending, most Fire Nation soldiers don't know much hand-to-hand fighting."

"What's to stop them from just snuggling with people to maintain their power?" Katara asked.

"Most people don't know how to draw their power like that, and most wouldn't be willing to do it because it limits the ability Bend without that person as the replacement source," Zuko shrugged.

"Is this a chi thing?" Katara frowned at him.

"Noticed that, did you?" he asked, rather than answering.

"I thought it was just me. Whenever I get close or touch you, like this, I can feel…." She trailed off as she reached over and touched his arm, her chi sliding against his immediately.

"Feels like my chi envelopes yours, doesn't it? Zuko asked quietly, looking at her strangely.

"Yes," she said. "Is that because you're somehow drawing power from me?"

Zuko shook his head.

"No. I don't know what _that_ is. I'd have to ask my Uncle. I've never heard of it happening with anyone else, and I've never had it happen with any other Bender."

Katara blinked at him.

"You feel it too, right?" she asked, subconsciously moving closer to him as their chi brushed and touched so intimately.

Zuko nodded. "But it's not because I'm drawing power from you by stealing your body heat. There's an art to doing that, which most fire benders don't know about. Uncle told me about it a long time ago and I tried it when I touched you the other night. Fire Bending requires a heat source. Like the other elements, the material that I bend has to come from somewhere. Generally, that fire is created through rage and anger manifesting as fire, but the fire still comes from inside me. I give it life, I fuel it. You simply Bend water. I create fire to bend it. But if a Fire Bender is too cold and kept away from the sun for too long, the ability to make it diminishes – like running out of energy."

"Are you saying Fire Benders are solar powered?" Katara asked, raising one eyebrow. She barely noticed the way she'd began tracing patterns over his forearms with her fingertips as she spoke to him.

"Not in so blunt a fashion, but yes," he frowned. "We draw our power from the sun because it is the life-giving energy that fuels our bodies, as it fuels the rest of the world."

"So how are you using my heat to fuel your fire?" she wanted to know.

"I learned how to maintain the fire energy within me, even when I'm not manifesting and bending it. Uncle taught me. It's always there, but if I'm cold and tired, it dims. Stealing your warmth, like this, means I warm up and the energy returns." He tugged her closer as he spoke, moving her until she was pressed against the length of his tall, wiry frame. His hands were hot as he slid them over the exposed skin of her midriff and Katara felt her heart rate rising even as her cheeks flushed pink.

"This is why you keep dragging me into your sleeping bag?" she asked.

He nodded, keeping a firm grip on her as he laid back on their sleeping bags and pulled her along with him until she was stretched out on top of him.

"You realise that if anyone knew about this, they'd have a heart attack, right?" Katara asked him.

"I'm not exactly going to go blabbing to your brother or the Avatar, Water Bender," Zuko said quietly.

"No, but _we'll_ both know."

"Are you going to keep talking and being so tense, or are you going to let me sleep?" he demanded, lifting his head to glare at her. Katara propped her chin against his sternum to glare back at him.

"I can't sleep on top of you, Zuko. It's weird. And it will make both of us stiff, come morning."

"My track record so far suggests I'll be stiff either way," he replied.

Katara swatted him.

"Must you be vulgar?" she demanded.

"I take perverse pleasure in seeing you blush," he retorted.

"Oh, for crying out loud!" Katara grumbled, attempting to roll off him and failing when he held her firm on top of him.

"Stop squirming," he complained. "Just hold still and let me siphon your heat enough that if I wanted to, I could roast you alive."

"I'd rather you didn't," she said.

"Didn't roast you, or didn't steal your heat?"

"Would you let me go? It's too hot for cuddling."

"Only a Water Bender would complain it's too hot in the middle of a blizzard," Zuko said.

Katara made a noise of frustration, swatting him again when he began to laugh, still refusing to release her.

"You're insufferable," she accused, wriggling in his grip some more and managing to slide to one side of his body though both her arm and her leg where still thrown across him and she still laid half on top of him.

"Comfortable now?" he asked.

"No," Katara said. "Would you stop being so clingy?"

"I was out in the bloody blizzard all day, Water Bender. I'm _freezing_ , even in here. Be grateful I'm not suggesting you strip naked to better share _all_ of your body heat with me, rather than just some of it."

"Again with the vulgarity?" she demanded.

Zuko grinned in response, a wicked expression that made her insides twist over.

"You kind of like it," he accused. "Don't bother denying it. You blush every time I mention it and I didn't hear any protest to kissing me this morning."

"I didn't have much choice, did I?" she argued.

"Of course you did. You could have killed that soldier and run for it."

"You sprang at me out of nowhere and kissed me before I even realised it was you," Katara protested and Zuko began to laugh at her indignation. Katara realised, belatedly, that he was enjoying antagonising her.

After the wretched mood he'd been in all day, she couldn't say she minded all that much.

"Didn't stop you kissing me back though, did it?" he teased.

Katara nipped him, turning her head and nipping his chest in punishment.

"Ouch!" he protested, though it sounded feigned.

"Serves you right," she huffed, hiding a smile of her own against his shoulder. It amused her more than it should to learn that the serious, angry prince of the Fire Nation actually had a playful side.

"I'm not above flipping you and making it so that you'll have another reason for needing to drink that tea from now on, Water Bender," he threatened and Katara laughed. She couldn't help it. A giggle escaped her before she could contain it and she laughed out loud at the very idea.

He started laughing too when she laughed so much she kicked her legs with glee. Rolling to her back as she laughed all the harder, she felt Zuko prop himself up on one shoulder, watching her as she positively rolled on the floor at his threat.

"It wasn't _that_ funny a suggestion, Katara," he protested, still chuckling.

She'd almost had herself under control but at his words she dissolved into giggles once more.

"How am I meant to get any sleep with you giggling and writhing around like squirrel-snake?" he demanded, and Katara laughed even more.

Shaking her head at him, still laughing, she wriggled closer until she was pressed to his side once more, a quiver rushing through her when he slid his hand slowly across her stomach, his warmth making her ache strangely. When she finally got her laughter under control, he was leaning over her slightly, watching her as though she was a complex puzzle he was trying to solve. Katara smiled at him softly and his eyes darted to her lips.

She licked them self-consciously, tension fizzing between them suddenly. He was so close, and kissing him had felt so good that morning. Without conscious thought to do so, she found herself reaching for him, tangling her hand into the hair at the nape of his neck. He didn't flinch back or pull away from her touch and Katara watched his golden eyes jump between her lips and her own blue eyes, his expression a mixture of hunger, intrigue and guarded worry, as though he weren't sure they should be kissing again, but wanted to do so nonetheless.

Carefully, he lowered his lips to hers, capturing them softly, tasting her mouth slowly. The brush of his lips against hers made her heart race inside her chest and the feel of his chi curling around her own nearly made her delirious. Pressing up against him more fully, fisting his hair to hold him against her, Katara kissed him hungrily, needily. After so long without human contact of any kind before she'd approached him, her body seemed bent on making up for lost time.

His hand on her stomach curled further around, pressing to the small of her back and moulding her to him firmly. Katara felt the strangest urge to wrap her legs around him and she realised then that she was in trouble. It was one thing to kiss him for the sake of their safety in front of Fire Nation soldiers. It was entirely another to do so in private, with no one to perform for and no reason for it other than simple want.

Without conscious thought, she found herself peeling him out of his shirt, snagging the hem and dragging it up, over his chest. She broke the kiss as she pull the garment off over his head and he shifted to discard it completely before pulling her to him and kissing her once more. Katara's breath came in soft gasps as he claimed her lips once more, his hands hot as they pulled her closer, his bare chest almost too warm to touch.

Just as she felt his hands sliding up over her ribs heading for the bindings on her chest, there was a sudden thump against the wall of the igloo, followed by the sound of rapidly pounding fists.

"HELP! HELP US!"


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: Thanks ever so much to all of you taking the time to read and review. You're so sweet. I'm pleased so many of you like this story. I really wasn't expecting this many people to be on board the Zutara ship. I can't wait to see what you think of this chapter!**

 **Much love! xx-Kitten.**

* * *

 **Brightest Nights or Darkest Days**

 _By Kittenshift17_

* * *

 **CHAPTER TEN**

* * *

Zuko moved off her so fast that Katara nearly got whiplash. Suddenly, he was crouched beside her on their sleeping bags, a dagger in each hand, and his eyes were narrowed on the source of the sound.

"HELP!"

The rapid pounding was almost drowned out by the howl of a wolf, sounding entirely too close for comfort. Melting the wall, Katara looked on in shock when two teenagers almost of an age with her and Zuko toppled right through it. Beyond them a pack of wolves was bearing down on them.

The girl screamed as she fell through the wall to land in a heap on the far side of their fire, while the boy cursed and managed to roll, coming up into a crouch almost identical to Zuko's. His eyes fixed on the threat they made even as Katara used her bending to freeze the wall solid once more. Just in time, it seemed, because the solid thump of a wolf colliding with the wall followed a moment later.

"Who are you?" Zuko snarled at the kids across the fire.

"You saved us!" the girl panted, righting herself slowly even as she scrambled away from the wall. "And you have fire. Gods, I could kiss both of you! There are wolves out there."

Katara watched the girl warily. She had messy brown hair and the vibrant green eyes of an Earth Bender. She also had scrapes on her hands and knees, a rip in her shirt and she was bleeding.

"Did you get bitten?" Katara asked before the girl could catch her breath. She made to move forward to help her, but Zuko's hand on her stomach – hot against her bare skin – stopped her suddenly.

"I did, yeah. Gods, and it looks like we interrupted some fun for you two. Sorry about that, but honestly, I feel insincere saying it when the alternative was being eaten by wolves. Kuzon, stop glaring at the pair of them! They just saved our lives! Put down your knife this minute," the girl swatted her friend. "Sorry about him. He's a bit edgy. I'm Meng, this is Kuzon. Thank you, again, for saving us. Although I'd love to know how you made the wall melt and freeze again. Actually, I'd love to know how you made a hut out of ice, to be honest, but I'm rambling. Sorry about that too, I ramble when I'm terrified and I did almost just get eaten by a pack of wolves."

In spite of the dire situation and the wolves now scratching and digging at their igloo, Katara couldn't help but laugh at the way the girl prattled.

"I'm Katara," she introduced herself. "I should… put a shirt on. Dang it, where is it? I need to heal you before you attract who knows what else with the scent of that blood all over you."

"You're a Water Bender," Kuzon, the boy, accused her.

Katara froze, turning slowly to look at him. She narrowed her eyes slightly at the way he watched the pair of them.

"Well, obviously," Katara rolled her eyes. "Aren't you glad I am? If I wasn't you'd be being ripped to shreds right now. Kuzon, was it? Fire Nation name, isn't it?"

He narrowed his eyes on her in return. Eyes, she noticed, which were the same brilliant shade of Fire Bender gold as Zuko's.

"Clever, aren't you?" he said tightly.

"Oh, for crying out loud, Kuzon! Stop being such a jerk. She saved your life. Ignore him, Katara. He's always this touchy," Meng said, swatting the boy again. "Did you say you have healing abilities? Because that would be fantastic. I'm so sorry we had to burst in on you like this, but honestly, I'd rather this than facing those wolves."

"How did you even run into them?" Katara asked the other girl. She couldn't find her own shirt in the tangle of sleeping bags and so she settled for Zuko's, pulling it on over her head and making the prince frown at her. She nudged him to get him to relax, noting the way he was sizing up the other boy like he wouldn't mind hacking him to bits. "Put the knives down. They're not here to kill us."

"You don't know that," he argued. "Kuzon's tried before."

Katara froze again and so did Meng. Kuzon didn't look surprised by the accusation.

"You're running with a Water Bender, Prince Zuko?" Kuzon asked, raising one eyebrow and looking smug. "My, my, what would the Fire Lord have to say about _that_?"

"You two _know_ each other?" Katara asked, immediately on the defensive at his words and the idea that he clearly recognised Zuko.

"His mother used to work in the palace in the Fire Nation," Zuko said tightly. "She was banished when my mother disappeared."

Katara's eyes darted between the two of them carefully.

"What do you mean he tried to kill you once before?" she asked, moving closer to Zuko and preparing to spear an ice-shard through Kuzon's heart if the need arose.

"It was a bloody practice match!" Kuzon suddenly protested, lowering his dagger and shooting Zuko an exasperated look. "I didn't try to kill you. I just tripped while chasing you with a sword we weren't supposed to be playing with."

"You nearly took my arm off," Zuko argued.

"Please," Kuzon rolled his eyes. "I barely even nicked you with the blade. You were always such a drama-prince."

He started to laugh and Katara watched Zuko, noting the way his lips twitched like he might laugh too. Meng was watching closely too, and she sighed when both Fire Nation boys relaxed.

"Is the tense pissing match over?" she asked. "Because I'm still bleeding here."

Katara laughed, already liking the other girl. Hurrying around the fire, she took a look at the scrapes and the bite mark before using her Water Bending to heal them.

"This is seriously so cool," Meng said. "You're a Water Bender. I've never met a Water Bender before."

"You're an Earth Bender, aren't you?" Katara asked the girl.

Meng looked surprised.

"How did you know?" she asked.

Katara shrugged.

"Well, anyway. I am. But I'm not very good at it, yet. It's hard to be good at bending without being hauled off by the Fire Nation soldiers, so there's hardly opportunity for me to practice. The most I can do is make a sleeping platform a foot off the ground. See, watch?"

She took a Bending stance and raised the sleeping station Katara had set up, with Zuko still on it. He narrowed his eyes on the girl dangerously. Katara shook her head at him, noting that Kuzon looked protective of the girl the minute Zuko looked at her.

"Are you still bleeding, Meng?" Kuzon asked, moving toward the messy haired girl.

"No, Katara healed me," Meng smiled, turning to the boy and going up on her toes to kiss him. "We survived. I thought we were done for out there."

Kuzon nodded against her lips, kissing her back hotly and Katara glanced at Zuko. He looked surprised to see his former sparring partner kissing an Earth Bender.

"How long has it been since the two of you saw each other?" she asked him, moving back to sit next to him on the now raised sleeping platform.

"Since I was five, when my mother disappeared," Zuko said quietly. "Katara, don't trust them too easily. We both have a price on our heads."

Katara nodded.

"I'm not about to turn you in, Zuko," Kuzon said, looking away from his girlfriend to shoot Zuko a hurt expression. "I don't need the gold and I sure don't want the attention of the Fire Nation fixed on me."

"Yeah, sure," Zuko rolled his eyes. "As though anyone is going to turn down that much money."

"Thirteen years apart and exile haven't changed your condescension, I see," Kuzon said bluntly and Katara almost bit her tongue off in surprise at his boldness.

"Haven't taught you any more manners than you had at five, either," Zuko replied.

"You two were kids together?" Meng asked, smiling. "That's wonderful. Imagine the odds to have run into each other again now! That's amazing. Kismet, even. Did you call him 'Prince'?"

"He's the son of Fire Lord Ozai," Kuzon nodded his head. "Banished after losing an Agni Kai, wasn't it?"

Zuko gritted his teeth.

"Weren't you banished too?" Katara asked, frowning. "What are you doing in the Earth Kingdom?"

"Sure was. Best thing that ever happened to me, getting away from that place," Kuzon nodded.

Katara watched Meng bend a second sleeping platform for the two of them on the other side of the fire. The girl went about unrolling sleeping bags on the platform, making herself right at home. Something Zuko frowned over. Katara thought it was rather amusing. They could hardly send the young couple back into the snow to face the wolves, and the blizzard was kicking up again, the wind beginning to howl as it whistled past the smoke-hole.

"You're pleased you were banished?" Zuko asked.

Kuzon nodded, handing his girlfriend a water skin.

"Best thing to happen to me. I was finally free. No more dressing fancy. No more following all those buggering rules in the Palace. No worrying about putting a toe out of line or getting into trouble. It was great. I could just be a regular kid."

"What did you mother do in the palace?" Katara asked.

"She was a ladies maid to Zuko's mother, Ursa," Kuzon told her. "When no one was looking, me and Zuko used to play together, whenever we could give Azula the slip."

"What are the two of you doing way out here?" she asked curiously.

"Same as you, I expect," Kuzon said. "Trying to get to Ba Sing Se. We followed the cleared path on the road to get to here, which I'm guessing was cleared by you. We thought we'd make it to the next town before nightfall, but we didn't. Those wolves snuck up on us while Meng was trying to Bend us a shelter for the night and we had to run for it. I've never been so glad to see shelter in all my life."

Katara nodded.

She looked over when Zuko nudged her and saw that he was handing her the crumple up ball of her shirt, obviously wanting his own back. She pulled it off over her head without thinking, giving it back to him and taking her own from him. The look he shot her before she pulled her own back on made her recall with startling clarity just what they'd been doing before they'd been interrupted and just why he'd had his shirt off to begin with.

In spite of both being Fire Nation, and being childhood friends, she also noticed that Zuko looked wary of Kuzon. He sat close to her side, tense and ready to Fire Bend or to lunge at the other boy at a moment's notice. He also seemed all the more comfortable with her and interested in her in that moment than she'd expected. She wondered if he was just trying to make them look more like a couple, suddenly needing to perform again, or if he was genuinely worried and wanted to make sure they'd both be safe.

She understood the feeling. Even though they were both strangers and seemed nice, she felt the urge to press closer to his side. She was perfectly capable of defending herself against either of them, she knew, but there was comfort to be had in knowing Zuko would defend her too, if it came to it.

"Are you a Bender, Kuzon?" Katara asked in the silence that followed his explanation.

"Yeah," he nodded. "Fire Bender. I'm a bit rusty, though. I was flinging fireballs at those wolves to drive them back, but they're hungry after such heavy snow and the blizzards. They were determined to eat the pair of us."

"Why are you rusty?" Zuko asked.

"No one to spar with," he shrugged. "No one who wouldn't rat me out for a Fire Bender, anyway. You've probably noticed that the army get cocky about it and the rest of the world hates us?"

Zuko nodded his head.

"So I keep it to myself, use it to heat tea or start a hearth fire and that's about it. I haven't sparred with anyone since I left the palace."

"Why didn't you find other Benders to spar with?" Katara frowned.

Zuko was the one who answered.

"Do you know how few people want to even talk to you when they find out you're a Fire Bender, Katara?" he asked. "I helped save a kid from being conscripted to fight in the war for the Earth Kingdom a while back and had to Fire Bend to do it. Before they knew what I could do, they invited me to their farm, let me eat with them, gave me work, money and supplies even though they had so little. The minute they found out, that ungrateful little shit told me he hated me and walked away without another word."

Katara frowned.

"Admittedly, _you_ don't have the best reputation," she said. "Did you tell them your name?"

Zuko narrowed his eyes on her.

"The point is, being a Fire Bender isn't so great unless you work with the Fire Nation and want to piss off the rest of the world," Kuzon told her when Zuko looked annoyed. "Kept it to myself. Meng was the first one I told in almost ten years."

Katara nodded and silence fell. It was slightly awkward, as though they were all waiting for Zuko's temper tantrum.

"There's some stew in the pot there, if you two are hungry," Katara offered when Zuko didn't speak. Instead he stood up and made for the door, where one of the wolves was digging at the small opening. A yelp and the scent of singed fur followed his throwing a fireball and Katara winced.

"Oh, we don't want to put you out and eat your food," Meng protested.

"It's no trouble. Eat while it's hot. You've had a pretty bad day," Katara told them. "Besides, I think we might be stuck here together for a while. The blizzard is kicking up again."

"Oh no," Meng whispered, her eyes going wide. "What if we run out of food? Or get snowed in?"

"We won't run out of food," Zuko growled, throwing another fireball through the small opening, tormenting the hungry wolves outside. "That is, if you don't mind eating wolf."

"You're going to… kill one of those wolves?" Meng asked, her eyes wide in horror.

Katara almost rolled her eyes. She'd grown accustomed to Aang and his respect for all life, but there were times when being delicate about killing for food was the only way to live. Especially in a blizzard when all the fruits and vegetables died.

"What? You want to save the mangy beast that bit you?" Zuko sneered over his shoulder and Katara sighed. She was _not_ in the mood to put up with him being a strop again.

"I should make the igloo bigger," she muttered to herself. "If we're going to be stuck here, maybe for days, we're going to need more room and it's already too hot in here."

"You're muttering," Zuko said, appearing beside her when she paced toward the back of the igloo and began bending, drawing more snow from the surrounding area to strengthen the walls against the wolves and to expand the igloo.

"You're in the way," she murmured to him in return.

"Why are you making it bigger? We're not staying here," he informed her.

"We don't' have a choice," Katara argued.

"We're leaving in the morning."

Katara narrowed her eyes on the prince. "Look at this," she said, unfreezing a section of the roof and pulling the water back, revealing a huge storm cloud overhead, heavy with snow.

Zuko eyed it in annoyance.

"Bloody hell, it's cold when you do that," Kuzon complained, huddling closer to the fire and making it grow.

"We're going to run out of firewood," Zuko warned her. "And food."

"We'll eat a wolf," she replied.

"You would, wouldn't you?" he smirked cruelly. "Savage peasants, you Water Tribe folk."

Katara swatted him. He caught her hand.

"Don't hit me, Water Bender," he murmured, pulling her closer by her wrist.

Katara darted a glance toward Kuzon and Meng. They were busy eating, but Kuzon was slyly watching them.

"Don't be a jerk, then," Katara replied. "And let go. I need to seal the igloo again before one of those wolves gets in."

"I don't want to stay here. Not with them," he told her, pulling her even closer and putting his hand on the small of her back even as she using her Bending.

"We don't have a choice," she muttered. "What's your problem? He used to be your friend and she's nice."

"I was barely tolerating _you_ ," Zuko replied, too quiet for the others to hear. "Maybe you didn't notice, but I don't like people. I like my Uncle and that's it. Even he gets on my nerves. Putting up with you is bad enough, without two strays."

Katara rolled her eyes.

"You seemed to be tolerating my company just fine before they showed up," she reminded him. "In fact, I'd say you were enjoying my company. Immensely."

"How am I to enjoy it now, with these two here?" he asked.

Katara laughed at him. She didn't mean to, but she couldn't help it. He was so grumpy and so moody all the time. He also didn't seem to realise he'd just admitted annoyance over the notion of not being able to kiss her because they had company. As though he hadn't realised they'd been about to make a mistake and cross a line that couldn't be uncrossed.

Being in his company this way was dangerous, she realised. His chi was enveloping hers even as he stood there, invading her personal space and complaining about everything. He'd obviously decided that the best way to siphon her body heat was also by touching and kissing her. If Katara was honest with herself, she didn't know how far things might've gone if they hadn't been interrupted.

And _that_ was a problem. He was supposed to be the enemy. They might've called a truce as a result of mutual need for the other to find their companions and to travel safely, but that shouldn't be extending to anything sexual. Gods, she'd only been with him for three days. Admittedly, her track record with boys was short and heated in just the same way, but that had turned out to be a mistake, too. She'd slept with Jet before realising he was a monster and she'd been interested in Haru too, before they'd parted ways.

Haru was a good guy, at least. But Zuko wasn't. In fact, he was one of the _worst_ people she knew. He was a killer. A traitor to his own nation. A menace hunting Aang. A nuisance with the way he was so ridiculously moody _all_ the time.

And yet Katara couldn't deny that she was attracted to him. His hands on her body felt good. His lips on hers felt amazing. Even the feel of his desire prodding at her when she woke or when they kissed felt good. Worst of all, his chi felt addictive. Zuko would likely be the biggest mistake she would ever make, but dang if he didn't show promise that he would be the most intoxicating, passionate, wild, delicious and pleasurable mistake she could make.

"It's not funny," he told her, looking all the more annoyed.

"He's a Fire Bender too, Zuko. He could probably use a friend. They're both Benders but they have almost no access to their abilities, look at them," Katara tipped her head, watching Meng trying to create a small wall around each of the sleeping platforms to give them all some privacy and to keep them from rolling off the platform and into the fire. She wasn't having much luck.

Kuzon was trying to make the fire bigger to warm the igloo back up after Katara had taken the roof off it, looking like they were both chilled to the bone.

"They're pathetic. What is your point?" Zuko deadpanned.

Katara swatted him again without thinking.

"If you hit me again, I'm going to pin you to something and find another way to occupy your hands, Water Bender," Zuko warned her.

"Stop it!" she hissed at him, pulling her hands out of his grip when he tried to catch them. "My point is that they need _help_. Not everyone is as lucky as you or me. They haven't been fortunate enough to be trained by a Master. They're barely managing the basics and they need us. There's no way they'll make it to Ba Sing Se on their own. They nearly got eaten today and they aren't strong enough to defend themselves very well. You could teach Kuzon how to be a decent Fire Bender, because – and if you ever repeat this I'm _going_ to hit you again – you're probably as close to being a Master as most people ever get. You could train him and show him how to Bend well enough to defend himself.

"I don't know much about Earth Bending, but I could show Meng some of the Water Bending moves I know to see if she can apply the same principles to Earth Bending. It's not the same, of course, but I found that even being around Benders of different elements before training with Master Paku was helpful. She might learn a few things. Enough to make their own hut to hide from wolves if the need arises, at least. Look at them, Zuko. They're cold and they're hungry. They're tired, and they're going to be stuck with us until this blizzard breaks. So stop being a snobby jerk just because you hate everyone on the planet, suck it up and realise that for the next few days, you and your former friend will be getting reacquainted."

Zuko curled his lip.

"Besides," Katara whispered. "They're actually a couple. Outside of kissing, I've got no idea how to pretend to be someone's girlfriend, and you're doing a rubbish job of being a boyfriend."

"I defended you" he replied. "I didn't even say anything when you took my shirt. I'm being a _fantastic_ boyfriend."

"You're being a jerk," Katara corrected him.

"If anyone else spoke to me the way you do, I'd burn them to a crisp or have them killed," he said, arching his eyebrow at her in challenge.

"D you know how pompous you sound when you say things like that?" Katara countered. He narrowed his eyes on her, looking like he was thinking about hurting her to remind her that they _weren't_ a couple and weren't friends and that he _was_ a Prince.

"You only want to travel with them because you can't you stand the idea of being alone with me," Zuko said bitterly, looking away.

Katara realised right in that moment how many issues Zuko must actually have. She sighed and he stiffened in surprise when she ducked her head slightly, pressing her torso to his chest and looping her arms around his waist in a loose hug.

He stood stiff for a moment before putting his arms around her, his chi sliding along hers sensually and making her want to melt into him. She was still too warm inside the igloo, especially when pressed against him, but she could feel him shiver ever so slightly with the cold.

"Let's just see how the next few days go being stuck in here together," she muttered against his neck, surprised to feel him prop his chin on the top of her head. "If things go well, maybe we can travel with them. If they don't, we'll travel together to the next town and then go our separate ways."

"Are you talking about you and me? Or us and them?" he clarified.

"Us and them, you idiot!" Katara snorted. "Though if you annoy me as much as you have been today, I reserve the right to duel you until we both keel over from exhaustion. And then to demand a foot rub."

"You're delusional," he told her.

Katara knew it was probably true.

"Selfish jerk," she accused, though there was a fondness in her voice as she said so.

"Deal with it," he replied and Katara laughed all over again.


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: Sorry it took me so long everyone. RL got a bit hectic and my sleep patterns got fucked over so I could barely think, let alone write. That, and this chapter did not want to play nice.**

 **Much love! xx-Kitten.**

* * *

 **Brightest Nights or Darkest Days**

 _By Kittenshift17_

* * *

 **CHAPTER ELEVEN**

* * *

Zuko didn't like it. He hated people. He hadn't been kidding about barely tolerating Katara. He wanted out. Out of the igloo. Out of the deal to travel together. Out of the sight of Kuzon and Meng. Out of the Earth Kingdom.

The blasted Water Bender was getting to him. He hadn't been expecting it when she'd laughed so hard at his odd humour and his plot to steal her body heat for himself. He'd been shocked when she'd reached for him, and he'd nearly lost control when she'd kissed him for no reason other than apparent desire. She'd stripped him out of his shirt!

He'd be lying if he said that wasn't a new experience for him. The only women he'd ever tumbled with had been paid by his Uncle, or by the crew on his ship. He didn't seek out female company, and he didn't usually keep it. Living in close quarters with a girl like Katara was confusing enough without the kissing for the sake of hiding their identities. The idea that she'd kissed him for no reason was messing with Zuko's head.

He wanted to do it again. He wanted to tell Kuzon and Meng to fuck off so he could push his luck and see how much he could distract the little Water Bender until she had need for that Golden Thread Tea, after all. She was so warm and so soft and she didn't care about his scar or his title.

She sassed him, she back-talked him, she swatted him and insulted him without seeming to mean a word of it, even when he was rude to her. She'd even plucked up the courage to sing a song of her people, just because he'd mentioned not recognising the tune.

He needed to get out. He needed to get away from her. He'd been warned about this type of attachment before. If he spent too long with her, he'd get used to her. And then he might start to enjoy her. He might even fancy her, after a while. Especially if she would let him fuck her.

Gods, his groin ached and he wanted, more than anything, to peel her out of her clothes and her sarashi wraps so he could run his hands over every inch of her.

"Is this okay?" Meng asked softly from across the fire.

She and Kuzon had climbed onto the second sleeping platform, piling their packs next to the raised earth and sitting amid a pile of furs for warmth as they devoured some of Katara's stew. Zuko couldn't blame them. It had tasted fantastic. He sat with his legs in the small entrance-way Meng had made on each sleeping platform. Each one was a foot above the ground, with another foot of earth ringing the platform for privacy. She'd managed to lower the fire a bit too, into a small pit in the middle of the room, creating a ring for seats around it and lowering it so it couldn't escape or spit flames at anyone.

"It's great, Meng," Katara smiled at the other girl from where she sat, cross-legged, next to Zuko.

"Did you make the stew, Katara? It's delicious," Meng said. She was a chatty thing. Zuko didn't like it. Katara was chatty enough. Two chatty girls were going to drive him mad.

Kuzon was quiet as he sat against the wall. Meng had managed to erect a little more Earth on the far side of their platform so the icy wall of the igloo wouldn't touch their skin. She'd offered to do the same to the one Zuko and Katara would share, but Katara had asked her not to, claiming that she was already too hot and might actually melt if she slept curled up with Zuko without being able to cool down by touching something cold.

Water Benders, Zuko had decided, were crazy.

"It's nothing," Katara said modestly, though she smiled.

"It's better than I could've made," Meng argued. "Thank you for letting us have some."

"Honestly, it's no trouble. It's actually, well… A big part of being in a Water Tribe is about community spirit and closeness. My people have always helped each other. We share everything, that's just how we live."

"Kind of "what's mine is yours" attitude?" Meng asked.

"Essentially. We all have our own personal possessions, of course, but the way we live means that we have to work as a community to survive. Hunting leopard-seals and Whale-bears is hard work. They're big animals and they're dangerous. Tracking them is hard; killing them is even harder. And hauling them back to the village once they're dead is harder still. The meat must be butchered, the parts collected for their various uses, the strips of meat dried, the fat cured, the bones boiled for glue and other useful things. No one person could hunt, butcher and return the kill to the village alone. We share the work, and we share the spoils. I… honestly, it's nice having someone to share with."

Zuko knew he and Kuzon were both staring at her, wide-eyed, when she looked over. Fire Nation people weren't like that. They were all about personal gain, everyone out for himself first.

"You haven't had anyone to share with?" Meng asked, smiling softly at the way Katara lit up to talk about her people.

"I… no. I haven't. I was separated from my brother and my friend when the blizzard struck, and I've been away from my Tribe for more than a year. The men all went off to war when I was young, so I grew up surrounded by women and children and the elderly. Having spent so long in close quarters with my brother and my friend since leaving – the friend is male – it's odd to talk to another girl again."

"I know the feeling," Meng nodded. "My family is very large. I'm one of nine siblings. We grew up sharing, too. Travelling with just Kuzon has been so strange. It's odd, not having my younger sisters stealing my hairbrush or my younger brothers swinging off me wanting food when Mum is too busy working to cook something decent."

"At first it was nice," Katara smiled. "You know, not having to worry about so many people and not needing to be aware of the younger ones all the time or having so many chores to do every day. After a while though, I started to miss them all. The little quirks everyone has; the way that Gran Gran would smooth her hand through my hair before bed; the feeling of being part of a community. I miss it."

Zuko watched the little Water Bender as she looked down at her feet, biting her lip like she might cry for missing her people and he realised she cared about them more than he'd cared about anyone except his Uncle. He didn't even really think about it as he shifted on their sleeping platform until he was sitting behind her, looping his arms around her middle and pulling her back to lean against his chest in silent comfort.

She didn't protest the hold. She just leaned back against him trustingly, her chi sliding against his and making him crazy. Kuzon watched with assessing eyes as Zuko cuddled the little Water Bender, on the lookout for anything out of the ordinary in his behaviour. Zuko was beginning to think the other boy was going to find a lot of things out of the ordinary. Katara turned her head and nuzzled her face into the side of his neck, burrowing her cold nose against his skin and Zuko held back a hiss.

Meng was eyeing them like she thought they were adorable. Zuko rolled his eyes to himself. He needed sleep. It had been a long day and he wanted, more than anything, to crawl into his sleeping bag and hold Katara until he stopped feeling so wretchedly cold.

"We should get some sleep," Meng said softly. "I don't know about you guys, but I'm tired after all that walking and almost being eaten by wolves."

Katara muffled a yawn against Zuko's neck in apparent agreement and Zuko couldn't quite hold back a chuckle.

"Come on, Water Bender," he murmured, scooting back across their bedding and pulling her with him. "Time for bed."

"Goodnight," Meng called from across the fire when Zuko dimmed it a bit, Meng and Kuzon climbing into bed themselves. "And thank you, again, for saving us."

"Goodnight," Katara said in reply, pulling her shirt back off over her head and rolling to face Zuko.

He watched her shuffle around, trying to get comfortable and he smirked when she dug her hands under his shirt. Wanting to feel all of her skin pressed to his, he removed his own shirt and pulled her in closer, sliding his knee between her thighs and curling his arms around her back, he pulled her close until she was flush against him. The feel of her chi sliding against his, enveloped and snug inside his own, made him smile.

It shouldn't, but it did. He was getting used to the feel of their chi mixed that way and he'd missed it all day while they'd been walking. That was a problem, he knew. If Uncle were there, he'd be nudging Zuko and giving him approving looks, probably. Saying things about how pretty girls were to be kept happy and how nice it was to have company.

Zuko rolled his eyes even as he felt Katara press a soft, affectionate kiss to the middle of his chest, her arm looped over his waist and he finger tracing soft patterns over his back. He could almost feel her beginning to drift, though whether it was toward sleep or if she was moving on the wind of the blizzard as it began to howl, Zuko didn't know.

He doubted he'd be able to get a good sleep with two potential threats just across the fireplace, but the lulling feel of her fingers, the soft puff of her breath and the exhaustion after their long day caught up with him. His eyes drifted closed and he felt his body slowly relax against her, drinking in her warmth and feeling her chi running against his as he dropped off to sleep.

~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~

Katara's eyes snapped open to darkness at the sound of a soft, breathy moan. At some point during the night she'd kicked the blankets off her feet to press the soles against the icy wall of the igloo. Her whole body felt alarmingly warm, but not in a bad way.

Another soft sound drew her attention and Katara tipped her head back, unsurprised to find herself in Zuko's arms. His eyes were closed and his brow was slightly furrowed, but he didn't seem to be the one responsible for the noises. When another moan sounded, she lifted her head, shifting slightly to look across Zuko's chest – where she appeared to be sprawled.

On the far side of the barely glowing fire, two shapes moved. Squinting through the gloom, Katara spied Meng upon the sleeping platform. She was sitting up, facing the back of the igloo and she seemed to be gyrating slowly. Hands upon her hips guided her motion and Katara's cheeks flushed crimson when she realised what she was looking at just as the girl's head dropped back.

Meng and Kuzon were having sex. Right there, across the fire, where anyone could see; apparently without a care that she or Zuko might see them or hear them. The idea made her uncomfortable. The sounds Meng was making also stirred something else that she didn't want to think about and Katara quickly laid her cheek back on Zuko's chest, not wanting to be caught looking or caught awake for such a thing.

She felt Zuko shift ever so slightly and Katara tipped her head to look at him again. His eyes were open this time and she got the feeling he'd been awake for a while. He glanced at her carefully, being sure not to move enough to tip the other couple off that either of them were awake even as another breathy moan escaped Meng. Katara met his gaze, her cheeks still pink, her breath suddenly uncomfortable as she tried to control it.

She'd heard other people having sex before, of course. It wasn't something easy to hide when one lived in an igloo. It was just a natural part of life, but that didn't stop her own thoughts from travelling in forbidden directions. It also didn't stop her from recalling that, before Meng and Kuzon had showed up needing help, she'd been peeling Zuko out of his clothes.

He smoothed one hand, very slowly, up her back, fingers skimming over her flushed skin and her bindings to tangle in her loose long hair. When he looked at her, she got the feeling he as silently trying to convey that they should stay quiet and not move, lest they interrupt. Because as awkward as it was to listen to the other couple having sex, it would be even more awkward if they interrupted before Meng and Kuzon were finished.

Pressing her lips together, Katara laid her cheek back on Zuko's chest once more, snuggling a little closer to him as silently as possible. He sighed softly, his nails scratching absently against her scalp and making her heart race inside her chest. She hated herself a little for the sudden urge she felt to have her way with the Fire Prince.

She wasn't supposed to want him. She wasn't supposed to be eavesdropping on someone else having sex. She certainly wasn't supposed to be imagining what it would be like to have sex with Zuko. Meng moaned again, her breath coming faster and their pace increasing. Katara shut her eyes, not wanting to hear. She was surprised Zuko hadn't spoken up to interrupt them, actually. He was hardly shy when it came to expressing his displeasure or his annoyance. She was a little shocked he hadn't told them to shut up so he could sleep.

Wondering if the performance was affecting him as much as it did her, Katara pulled her feet from the wall, Bending the dampness from them before sliding closer to Zuko. He tensed when she slowly slid her leg across his body, his hand coming up to catch her knee before she could reach her destination, wanting to know if he was turned on, too. He made a face at her in the dark when she tipped her head once more and Katara pushed against his hand, wanting to put her knee back down across him.

He narrowed his eyes at her before slowly, carefully, laying her thigh down across his hips. She could feel the hot, hard length of steel inside his clothing as she did so and she didn't know if she wanted to giggle, or if she should feel relieved that she wasn't the only one whose body was betraying them.

Stifling the giggle lest the other couple realise they were both awake, Katara laid her head back down on Zuko's shoulder and tried to think about other things. She hated that she couldn't even say something to him to distract both of them without tipping off the pair across the fire. She wished they'd hurry up, actually. It was awkward enough sleeping next to Zuko and touching him this way without the added issue of other people's sex-noises.

Zuko kept his hand on her knee, making certain she wasn't going to move her thigh, lest she start something she wasn't sure she wanted to finish. Katara had no intention of doing so anyway, but that was hardly the point. She couldn't help but think that, come morning, things would be awkward. How as she supposed to look at either Meng or Kuzon without blushing when she'd listened to them having sex?

At least with Zuko they'd both reached a point where bodily reactions such as his 'rising with the sun' and her own reaction to him when they kissed could be brushed off, downplayed or ignored when they weren't childishly teasing one another for it. It was still awkward, but it had been accepted as unavoidable when they were interacting in such close quarters. This, however, was completely avoidable. The likelihood that they might all be stuck in this igloo for the coming days while the blizzard raged didn't at all improve matters and Katara found herself wishing with all her might that the blizzard would let up long enough that they might make it to a town where they didn't have to share a living space – a sleeping space – with the other couple.

There was only so much she was comfortable sharing and sex details weren't one of them. Zuko's fingers in her hair, digging gently against the base of her skull and the back of her head lulled her in spite of the increasingly loud noises coming from the other couple. Either they believed she and Zuko were heavy sleepers, or they simply didn't care if they disturbed them. Katara traced patterns with her fingertips across Zuko's ribs and chest, being very careful to avoid touching his nipples. She would swear his chi was entirely cloaking hers, wrapped around hers and making her feel funny inside.

She wished there was someone who could explain their odd chi connection to her. She wondered if Aang would know anything about it. He might've read about it or learned about it during his training to be a monk. As she laid there, trying to think about anything other than the sounds coming from the other platform, Katara wondered what Sokka and Aang were doing. Had they been separated from each other during the blizzard, too? Were they injured? Were they even alive? Her heart began to pound with worry the longer she thought about it and she found herself gripped with the urge to look for them, blizzard or not.

"Stop it," Zuko breathed to her, turning his head far enough to whisper against her forehead.

Katara froze, realising she'd begun to wiggle, trying to pull her leg back from where he held it against his groin, intent of moving her feet back toward the icy wall of the igloo, maybe even on melting the wall and moving through it, out into the night to seek her friends.

"Let go," she replied just as softly, lifting her knee so she wasn't touching him before pulling her leg back to herself.

"Where are you going?" he asked when she pulled out of his arms and rolled away, toward the wall.

Katara held her finger to her lips, pulling her shirt on over her head. She needed to get out of the igloo. Logically she knew that the blizzard would drive her back inside in short order, and that trying to run out there in this right now would be foolhardy, but she needed a walk or she was going to worry herself sick. She needed a bathroom excursion anyway. Creating a small hole in the wall of the igloo, she crawled out through it, wincing at the bite of the cold wind as she escaped the warmth of the igloo. Zuko hissed behind her, obviously disliking the cold even more than she did but Katara ignored him.

"Where are you going?" he demanded when she crawled all the way through.

"I need to go to the bathroom," Katara whispered turning to face him.

"There are wolves out there," he argued with her, climbing half-way out through the hole she'd made like he meant to stop her.

"As though I'm afraid of wolves?" she scoffed. "Hush up and either follow me if you need the bathroom, or climb back inside and I'll seal the hole until I get back."

She suspected that by now, they'd have disturbed the other couple, but she was too concerned about her friends and her bladder to care anymore, especially with the icy winds of the blizzard ripping at her hair, her clothes and her skin as though it sought to rip the flesh from her bones.

"If I get frostbite, I'm going to hurt you, Water Bender," Zuko growled, grabbing his shirt and a coat before crawling out of the igloo after her.

"I promise I'll warm you right back up," Katara teased, sealing the hut and walking off into the storm.

"Where are you going?" he demanded, following after her. "You're going to get lost. If I have to put up with those two by myself until the blizzard ends, and then have to find your frozen corpse somewhere when it's over, I'll re-animate you just to murder you, Katara!"

"Must you always threaten me?" she laughed. "Wait here. I have to pee."

"Gross," Zuko declared.

"As though you don't?" she laughed.

"Practically impossible like this," he flicked a hand toward his crotch and Katara laughed again.

"Your friends were a little too… uh… comfortable in our presence, I think," she laughed.

"They're _not_ my friends," he growled.

Katara ignored him, ducking behind a tree to handle her bladder before melting some snow to rinse her hands. She didn't much fancy the idea of going back inside, even if she was freezing out in the storm. It felt wild, raging across the Nations. She wished she could fly on the wind; that she could travel to wherever Sokka and Aang might be. Instead she was stuck with Zuko. And he was no happier about it than she was.

When she rounded the tree she spied him behind another one, dealing with his own bladder and shivering as he did so.

"Do you think they're finished," she asked, melting more water and watching him breathe enough heat into in that it steamed.

"Probably," Zuko grunted. "That or the icy blast of you opening a hole in the wall will have sapped their fervour. If this blizzard is still raging by morning, you're making that peasant hut big enough that I don't have to look at them or hear them, Water Bender."

"Do you actually think that you can boss me around?" Katara laughed at him.

Zuko glared at her but didn't bother trying to enforce his birthright or his royal privilege. Katara laughed all the more at the idea that he apparently knew she would do as she chose, no matter what he said.

"I'm freezing," he muttered, reaching out and yanking her against his chest. Katara burrowed against him, having left her coat inside the igloo and noticing his warmth compared to the frigid wind and driving snow.

"Duel me later?" she asked against his neck. "I can make an igloo big enough for us to train in until this passes."

Zuko nodded and Katara could hear his teeth chattering when he pressed his jaw against the side of her head. Pulling out of his hold despite the sound of protest he emitted, Katara tugged him along with her, back toward the igloo. She melted the wall to admit them and pushed him in ahead of her. She desperately wanted to seek out Sokka and Aang, but there was no chance she'd find them in this. No matter where they were, it must be far from her. Katara took a slow, deep breath, drawing the icy wind inside herself and sending a wish to the spirits that they would guide her friends safely to Ba Sing Se.

~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~

Sokka, of the Southern Water Tribe, was right at home in the middle of a blizzard. He had his boomerang and his heavy furs from living at the South Pole and he was only too accustomed to trudging through ice and snow to get to wherever he was going.

And he was going to Ba Sing Se.

Katara might've been thrown from Appa's back in that storm and flung anywhere, but they'd made a plan. She'd follow it. His sister wasn't stupid. She knew as well as he did that whenever one was separated from the Tribe in a blizzard, there was a place to congregate. A meeting point. A heading that was to be followed until friends, family and tribespeople were reunited once more. The time they'd spent since leaving the South Pole, there was always a place to meet.

No matter where they flew aboard Appa, they picked a place that was considered the heading; the meeting place; the place to travel to in the event of separation. She would follow it. She would be on her way to Ba Sing Se as long as she was able, Sokka was sure of it.

"This is getting ridiculous," Aang complained as they sat inside the igloo the Avatar had built with his Bending, housing Sokka, Aang, Appa and Momo. They'd been sitting inside the wretched thing for three days, now. Having managed to travel for one whole day between blasts of the blizzard, they were making very slow progress toward Ba Sing Se and they were getting on each other's nerves.

Sokka hadn't realised, until now, just how much of a buffer Katara provided between himself and Aang. He hadn't realised how much he relied on her picking up after him, mending his things, cooking for them and generally mothering him, either. He missed her, if he was being honest.

"It'll let up soon," Sokka told the grumpy Air Bender. Aang had been furious and worried since they'd lost track of Katara in the storm. They hadn't even met up until a week after the initial hit of the blizzard, having been blown apart. A rare day a week in had allowed for flying and Aang had spotted him slogging through waist-deep snow in the direction on Ba Sing Se.

"What if it doesn't?" Aang said. "What if Katara is out there, hurt? What if she died of exposure? What if she broke her neck when she landed? What if the blizzard never ends and all the plants and animals die? We'll all die."

Sokka tried to control the urge he had to throw something at the kid. He was relatively certain that of the two of them Sokka himself was usually the worry wart overthinking everything, but lately Aang's mind had been running away from him as he imagined any number of wretched things that might've befallen Katara.

"This blizzard is obviously something to do with the Spirit world, Aang," Sokka said, trying and failing to be patient with the kid. "Why don't you try to make contact with the spirit world and figure out why the spirits have decided to punish the whole world with this blizzard? It's not like we're going to be going anywhere any time soon. Maybe you can talk some sense into those spirits so we can all get to Ba Sing Se and find Katara that much sooner."

"If she's even still alive," Aang muttered darkly. He was cranky and Sokka really wanted the kid to travel to the spirit world for a while just so he'd have some peace and quiet to think.

"Fine," Aang said. "Don't move on until I get back, I guess. Maybe the spirits will know if Katara's alive."

Sokka nodded, watching the kid settle himself to meditate. His arrows began to glow after a little while and Sokka breathed a sigh of relief to know he'd finally have some time to himself without the kid muttering doom and gloom in his ear. He hoped Aang got some answers about the blizzard and about Katara.

The sooner they got Katara back, the better.


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: Hi, everyone. Sorry for the delay. I know I said I would be trying to keep this updated on a weekly basis, but the Muse wandered off and wanted nothing to do with Zuko for a little bit. Sorry abut that. I think I'm back on track, so fingers crossed the momentum keeps up. I can't wait to see what you make of this chapter. Thanks ever so much to all of you who take the time to read and review.**

 **xx-Kitten.**

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 **Brightest Nights or Darkest Days**

 _By Kittenshift17_

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 **CHAPTER TWELVE**

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Fireballs flew at her and Katara danced out of their way, laughing. She sliced razor sharp discs of ice at Zuko, flinging them and watching him block every single one, fire whips, fire balls and quick footing allowing him to destroy them and dodge them with ease. He threw fire in return, the two of them duelling fiercely despite the way Katara laughed, teasing him, when she showed that since the last time they'd fought, she'd improved immensely.

He was silent as he battled but for the occasional grunt of effort behind particularly powerful attacks. Katara knew he was good, but for the time being she was holding her own and having a blast doing it. They'd been stuck in the igloo with Meng and Kuzon for days now as the blizzard raged on. After the first night, she'd created more suitable 'bedrooms' for the four of them, allowing the other couple privacy and saving her and Zuko having to endure another midnight surprise.

The young couple were infuriating, Katara had found. Meng was ever-perky, always bouncing around with bright ideas and entirely too excited about everything. Kuzon was a lot like Zuko, but he had a quicker sense of humour – or perhaps he was simply less guarded than the Fire Prince. The two of them together were infuriating for the simple fact that they were young and very much in love. They were often all over each other and if it weren't for the painfully obvious way she and Zuko were both uncomfortable with it, she might've thought it adorable.

But it wasn't adorable. It was annoying. Every morning she woke to Zuko prodding at her behind and every day she thought about rolling over and offering to help with the problem. In keeping with Zuko's surly attitude and the need to play this off as the two of them being a couple, they stolen a few innocent kisses when Meng and Kuzon were paying attention, but beyond that they had both been keeping their hands to themselves whenever possible. The live show being put on by the others was enough to keep their libidos raging and they certainly didn't need any more fuel for the fire.

"Is that the best you've got?" Katara taunted Zuko across the long, wide practice hall she'd made entirely out of ice for the sake of burning off some energy and relieving some tension before Zuko could actually kill their new friends.

"You can't handle the best I've got, Water Bender," he retorted, his eyes narrowed with deadly focus. He'd been surlier than ever and Katara had been having a hard time getting a word out of him that wasn't a snapped instruction or a scathing comment about their new friends, not that she entirely blamed him. For someone who tended to loathe what seemed to be the entire world, he was doing well to have refrained from killing the other couple they were currently sharing a dwelling with.

Katara flung another water whip at him, catching the fireball he'd thrown and smirking at him.

"We'll just see, won't we?" she replied.

He didn't smirk, but he did frown just little bit less before creating a wave of fire and forcing it toward her. Katara met him blow for blow, hissing whenever the fire got too close and taunting him whenever she managed to douse him. The sound of their battle inside the enclosed ice-hall was unbelievable, the roar of his fire creating blasts of steam and booms every time there elements met, head to head.

She was tired and sore by the time Zuko finally grew impatient enough with trying to beat her through Bending from a distance. She hissed when she miss-stepped as he closed in on her, forcing her into tight quarters, cornering her.

"Tired?" he challenge as she lost a good chunk of one of her hair loops when he threw a fire blade at her and almost took out her eye.

Katara bared her teeth at him, encasing her body in ice before launching herself at him, attempting to tackle him across the floor. He grunted on impact when she hit him, his body-heat alone enough that the ice began to melt around her. Katara grappled with him batting at him with icy fists and he met each one with a flame-encased blow of his own, her ice rapidly turning to steam as it melted. When she managed to pull him to the floor, she thought she'd won and she squealed in protest when he encased his whole body in fire, rolling and tumbling with her across the hard ground to finally pin her – drenched but no longer covered in ice.

"Yield," he commanded, pinning her wrists above her head as he straddled her.

Katara wasn't giving up that easy, kicking one leg up, she managed to hook it against his shoulder, dragging him backward until she could roll again. She hit him hard, knowing better than to pull her punches, knowing he wasn't pulling his, and that later she'd be able to heal the pair of them of whatever they did to one another. Zuko grunted when she slugged him across the jaw – keeping her wrist locked and making sure she didn't tuck her thumb inside her fist, just the way he'd taught her.

He actually smirked when he wiped at the blood that trickled from his split lip and Katara kicked him, rolling free until she could crouch before springing to her feet and trying to round-house kick him when he made to block her. She squealed again when he caught her leg and yanked it skyward, almost toppling her backward but for the unrelenting grip he had on her. Katara flailed, trying to keep her balance and she cursed when he looked wickedly amused.

Snatching at him, trying to use her weight against him, she slugged him again, pouncing on him and latching on to his neck, trying to get him in a choke-hold.

"You're really not strong enough for that, Water Bender," he commented, laughing just a little when all she managed to do was end up being piggy-backed around by him whilst trying to cling on too tightly to his throat.

"Well, what was I supposed to do?" she huffed, still clinging to him and attempting to hit him while they grappled before he flung her forward over his head to land painfully on her back in the dirt. The wind knocked from her, Katara winced when he aimed a fist at her, threatening to burn her or hit her as the need might arise, proving once again that in a fair fight, he could still beat her.

"You should have used my grip on your leg to jump kick me with your other foot," he told her, offering her a hand up when she yielded. Katara took it, breathing hard as she let him pull her back to her feet.

"I'd have fallen on my butt," she protested, frowning.

"So would I if you kicked hard enough. If you'd kicked here," he indicated to his solar plexus, "you'd have winded me, too. Then you could have stuck the landing and attacked by pouncing on me again either with a knife or with your bending. You realise that, if the need arises, you could drown an opponent, don't you?"

Katara nodded. "I've never used my bending to kill, though. I mean, I've used bending to knock soldiers off of things and they might've fallen to their death, but I've never, you know, drowned anyone or used the ice to sever arteries or anything."

"Because you're scared," he said, not needing to ask, just knowing it to be so.

"Water bending is primarily used for healing," she sighed. "Using it to commit murder feels very wrong. For defence is fine, but actually inflicting lasting harm or death makes me feel uncomfortable."

Zuko eyed her for a long moment and Katara could tell he was judging her. That he wanted her to do better. Yet, there was a flicker of something in his eyes that was almost... relief. As though the idea that she didn't like to cause pain or want to harm anyone she didn't have to made him feel better. She supposed, with a family like his, that it might be nice for him to have a reminder that not everyone was a psychotic killer like his father or his sister.

"Do you want to go again?" he asked rather than commenting on her admission.

"I'm not sure I can," Katara admitted, still breathing hard from the fight.

He nodded.

"You're bleeding, you know?" she asked softly, reaching toward him tentatively, encasing her fingers with water and tracing a healing touch along the split in his lip. He held still as she did so, though his lips twitched a little when she moved to fix a slice on his arm where she'd hit him with on of her ice disks.

"You're the only person I've ever met who doesn't flinch away from touching me or at least ask permission before doing so, you realise that?" he said, seeming intrigued by her.

"If I asked, you'd tell me to buzz off," she replied evenly, hiding her smile.

"Did I burn you?" he asked. "Other than your hair, I mean?"

Katara nodded, focusing on her own body where several things ached and a few patches stung from the fire she'd caught from him.

"You're going to pay for what you did to my hair," she warned him.

"It looks ridiculous."

Katara frowned. "How uneven is it?"

He reached for the singed loop and showed it to her, holding the shortened chunk of hair where it ended in line it her eyelashes.

"You'll pay for that," she assured him.

"I can even it up, if you like?" he smirked. "But you'd look stupid with a fringe."

"Worse, I'd look like Mai," Katara muttered, reached around him to take hold of the dagger he always had tucked against the small of his back. He didn't try to stop her, watching as she shook out all of her hair

"What are you going to do?" he asked when she combed it all out before using a polished bit of ice as a mirror.

"Fix it," she shrugged, using the knife to begin cutting the long dark locks into a side-fringe that looked as natural as possible.

"Don't do that all the way across," he said, frowning at her. Katara hid her smirk, suspecting he'd heard her comment about Mai and suddenly fearful that she'd try a full fringe like his ex-girlfriend wore.

"Worried about flashbacks, Zuko?" she teased.

"Actually I just shudder to think what Mai, Ty Lee and Azula would say if they saw you with a fringe like Mai's," he replied, looking away darkly.

"Trust me, I have no intention of mimicking her look, Zuko. Just don't burn my hair again, alright?"

He smirked. "No promises."

Katara swatted him lightly before looking toward the living space of the igloo where sounds of Meng and Kuzon stirring could be heard.

"I swear if I have to listen to them one more time, I'm going to scream," Katara muttered.

Zuko looked very much like he agreed, his smirk and light-hearted humour disappearing at the reminder that they had company.

"Has the blizzard broken yet?" he asked.

Katara handed back his knife when she was finished fiddling with her hair, not thrilled with the long side fringe, but stuck with it until it grew out. She used her Bending to create a door in the icy wall of their training hall, leading the way outside. It was still snowing slightly, but the wind had finally died down.

She peered around curiously, taking in the sight of the world, all coated in white.

"We could travel in this," he said, following her out.

"You want to risk it?" she asked.

"We have to," he muttered. "We're almost out of supplies feeding them as well as ourselves."

Katara nodded, sighing in agreement and knowing it was true. If it was just the two of them, they'd have been fine for weeks, probably. Both of them knew how to ration food and the amount they needed to survive. With two extra mouths to feed, they were running out of food, fast.

"We could travel as far as we can and then stop again when we need to. It's not hard to make another igloo for the night."

"Then let's go," he said, and Katara was surprised when she felt him tug the back of her shirt, pulling her backward until she was flush against his chest. His chi slid against hers and Katara sighed, melting back against him without even really thinking about it. She'd grown a little too comfortable with him, cooped up in close quarters, sharing the bedroll every night and otherwise seeking out his company for the sake of their feigned relationship, but also as a way to avoid Meng when the girl got too annoyingly perky.

"What's the next town?" she asked, tilting her head slightly and shivering when she felt him bury his nose against the skin behind her ear.

"Some little nothing Earth Kingdom village," he sighed. "It's occupied by the Fire Nation soldiers, mostly. They use it as a control center for this region, producing weapons and war machines in a factory there."

"So unlikely to be harbouring your uncle or Sokka and Aang," she sighed sadly.

"They'll have a supply room we can raid to make up for all that our unwelcome guests have been consuming," Zuko murmured against her skin. "And probably a hotel where we can sleep in a real bed and don't have to listen to those two fucking like howler-monkeys every other minute."

Katara grinned at the very idea.

"Still planning to share with me when you have no one to perform for?" she asked quietly.

"Yes," he said.

He didn't elaborate more than that and Katara almost laughed to herself. If her friends could see her now, they would surely think her mad, snuggled in Prince Zuko's embrace and discussing the notion of continuing to sleep with him even when she didn't have to.

"Won't getting a hotel room draw the attention of the soldiers?" she asked.

"No, they all live in the village, and with the blizzard, they likely won't think twice about who is trying to stay out of the cold."

Katara nodded.

"Alright, then let's go. We're burning daylight. The sooner we leave, the better."

Zuko chuckled darkly, sharing her itching to be free of Meng and Kuzon.

"What was that you were saying about travelling with them all the way to Ba Sing Se?" he asked, still laughing.

"Oh, no." She shook her head firmly. "No, I couldn't possibly."

"Putting up with just you is bad enough," Zuko teased. Katara elbowed him lightly.

"Hey, Kuzon is _your_ friend," Katara reminded him.

"He's a sex-crazed lunatic bent on the perkiest and most annoying woman I've ever met," Zuko corrected. "And I say this, having grown intimately acquainted with _you_."

"I _will_ trap you inside a snowman, Zuko," Katara warned.

"Yeah, because a Fire Bender won't be able to melt snow in two seconds flat," he scoffed. Katara laughed, her whole body thrumming with pent up desire thanks to so long spent in close quarters and entirely aware of him as a male. He pressed his lips lightly to the side of her neck before releasing her.

"Are you going to be surly and grumpy all day, trudging through the snow?" she asked as they both made their way back inside.

"Are we going to be generally existing?" Zuko asked in reply and Katara couldn't help but giggle.

"Good morning!" Meng greeted them both enthusiastically, padding about the living space dressed only in what appeared to be one of Kuzon's shirt.

"Hi, Meng," Katara said, noticing the way Zuko pointedly ignored the Earth Bender, curling his lip as he made for the room where he and Katara had been sleeping. "The blizzard broke, though it's still snowing softly. Zuko and I are going to try to make it to the next town today."

"Oh, that's wonderful!" Meng said, bouncing about happily. "Kuzon! We're finally moving again. It's just as well, too, I was beginning to worry we were going to run out of food. Do you think there will be many people on the road today? What if those wolves come back? Which way are we even supposed to go? In this snow I'm just completely turned around."

Meng continued to babble and Katara sighed, walking away from the girl and into the room she'd been sharing with Zuko where he was making faces and angrily stuffing things into his bag.

"I hoped they were going to say they'd stay," he muttered when Katara joined him, rolling up their bedrolls and picking up all their belongings. She packed as fast as she could, watching Zuko do the same.

"There's no use rushing," she sighed. "They'll be hurt if we run off before they're ready."

"So?"

Katara laughed. "So we have to wait for them or we'll be considered rude."

"Katara, I'm the Prince of the Fire Nation, it's my privilege to be rude to others."

"More like it's your pleasure," she muttered.

"My pleasure would involve being as far from those two as possible, preferably somewhere warm, potentially with you, naked," he retorted and Katara's cheeks flamed crimson in surprise at his address of the sexual tension between them thick enough to choke a platypus-bear. They might've both passingly accepted the quirks of each others bodies when desire was present, and shared several heated kisses, but they hadn't gone any further than when he'd peeled her out of her shirt before Meng and Kuzon had turned up in need of help.

"Zuko!" Katara hissed.

"What?" he snapped grumpily. "It's true. You're driving me mad, and they're making me contemplate murder."

"You can't just go blurting it out like that," she hissed. "Things are tense enough!"

Zuko paused in the middle of trying to shove the tea-box back into his pack, his amber eyes lifting to fix on her.

"Meaning?" he asked, looking like he was suddenly amused.

Katara blushed and looked away. She chose not to answer him, not at all trusting that she would be able to admit that if something didn't happen soon, she might explode. Right that very moment she wanted to forget about packing their things, pull him down on the bedroll and have her way with him, but there was no way she was about to admit that out loud. Mostly because Zuko would probably laugh at her, but also because she knew that she wasn't supposed to want him. She wasn't supposed to be forgetting that he'd hunted her, Sokka and Aang across the world. He'd once tied her to a tree and left her there to rot, confound it all!

She wasn't supposed to want him sexually. She wasn't supposed to be finding him funny and interesting, and she was putting it down entirely to the fact that they were stuck together for the foreseeable future unless they wanted to be stuck with people like Meng and Kuzon, or to be all alone, but still travelling in the same direction. She was sure that if not for being in such close quarters and faking a relationship, she'd never be this attracted to him.

"Water Bender," Zuko warned, not liking to be ignored.

"Nothing," she said. "Forget I said anything, and I'll do the same about what you said, and everything will be fine."

Zuko narrowed his eyes on her but he didn't speak. Katara finished packing her bag, standing up and making to return to the main area of the igloo to collect her cooking utensils. Before she could get more than two steps, Zuko caught her arm, tugging her back around to face him. Katara's eyes were wide as she looked up at him, finding him very much inside her personal space.

"You're ' _tense_ ' too?" he confirmed quietly, peering past her toward a sudden, loud spat that Kuzon and Meng were having as they tried to fit all their belongings into their packs.

"As though you don't already know that?" Katara demanded.

"Unlike me, you don't have any outward signs of it, so I wasn't sure," he admitted, frowning slightly. Katara made a face at him, hating the way her heart was suddenly pounding and her breath was hitched and her whole body twitched with the urge to reach for him and pull him down until she could kiss him.

"This is a problem," she said, trying to distract them both when his eyes travelled from her own blue pair to rest on her suddenly parched lips. "We're supposed to only be acting like a couple for the sake of fooling the Fire Nation army. We're not supposed to... well. You're still the prince of the Fire Nation, in case you've managed to forget. And I hardly think that your people would be thrilled at the idea of you associating with a Water Bender."

"I'm the banished prince," he corrected with no small amount of bitterness.

"That doesn't change the facts, Zuko. This is supposed to be only for show when our lives are in danger. We're not supposed to be... attracted... to each other," Katara protested.

"Because I'm Fire Nation?" he asked, his eyes narrowing with suspicion, anger and maybe a little hurt. "Or because the Avatar will cry if his crush doesn't pan out the way he'd like?"

"I'm not concerned about Aang's feelings, Zuko," Katara hissed frustratedly. "He's too young for me and he has a silly crush that I'm really hoping he'll grow out of before I have to deal with the awkwardness of breaking it to him that I think of him as a younger brother. That's not the point. The point is that just because you and I have come to an understanding for the sake of travelling peacefully, doesn't mean that when we get to the end of this little journey, you're not still going to try to capture Aang for the sake of restoring your honour and returning to the Fire Nation. How accepting do you think they'd be of you if they found out you'd slept with some Water Tribe peasant - as you've called me in the past? How do you think I'd feel to have you turn on me to capture Aang and hand him over to be murdered by your father."

Zuko frowned.

"How exactly do you envision me handing him over without finding myself in chains too, Katara? I'm the second most wanted criminal in the world. What good does capturing he Avatar do my honour if I can't reclaim my throne that way?"

"So you wouldn't try to capture Aang if he walked in here right now?"

"At this point I think it's more than clear that my father's tactics for war don't work other than to make the rest of the world hate the Fire Nation, Water Bender. Do you know how I got this scar?" he asked, pointing to the angry red scar upon his face.

Katara nodded. "An Agni Kai against Ozai."

"Yes, one he insisted on because I was invited to a war meeting with my father and his generals, where one of those generals suggested a plan to have newly recruited and untrained soldiers slain as a distraction while an experienced team infiltrated from another position. They planed to use those men like canon fodder and I spoke out against the idea. I spoke out of turn when it wasn't my place and I apologised profusely in the face of my father's anger. I was thirteen years old," Zuko told her coolly. "He did this - a grown man - to his own son just for speaking out of turn against what I maintain to this day was a dishonourable, cruel, and merciless plan that punished Fire Nations soldiers as much as it punished the people of the Earth Kingdom city they were infiltrating. He made an example out of me about what happened to those who spoke against his plans and then he stripped me of my title, banished me from my home and told me the only way to ever return and redeem myself was to find a boy no one had seen for one hundred years."

Katara blinked, shocked that he was so willing to share the truth behind his scar with her. Shocked that he seemed so utterly serious in the face of what amounted to accusation of his impending betrayal when this was all over, and that he was denying any plan to capture Aang for the sake of his throne.

"Now, as a stubborn kid, kicked out of home and dethroned, I wanted to regain what I'd lost, believing my father when he said I had lost all honour - as though it was something _he_ could take from me the way he took my throne and my home and my mother. But that was before I realised how wrong the Fire Nation is about the rest of the world. I _will_ reclaim my title and my throne, Katara," he vowed. "But not by handing over the world's last hope at defeating the man keeping me from them."

Katara's eyes went wide in utter shock at his declaration. She could hardly believe her ears and wondered, briefly, if this wasn't some sexual-frustration induced delirum she was dreaming up. Was she going to wake up in the furs beside him any minute now, having imagined a world where Prince Zuko might change sides and turn on his own Nation just because he'd met her? Had she gone off the deep end?

"You're... switching sides?" she asked breathlessly. Zuko looked away for a moment, releasing her as he shrugged as though the acknowledgement of the idea was as much a shock to him as it was to her. As though he'd just realised as he said the words that he planned to turn traitor in every sense and that he would work to restore balance to the world, rather than continuing to threaten their last hope for balance ever returning.

"I think I technically switched sides when I started freeing prisoners and killing the wretches holding them captive or doing other reprehensible things in the name of my kingdom," he muttered. "So while I don't know _what_ I plan to do when we run into your little friends again, I can say with all certainty that capturing the Avatar is no longer my goal."

"The what is?" Katara asked quietly.

"Finding my Uncle," Zuko said, meeting her gaze once more and looking deadly serious. "Undoing what my Nation has done to the others. And claiming my throne so I can do so with the power of a Fire Lord, rather than just a rogue guerrilla warrior."


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: Thank you all so much for taking the time to read and review this story. It means the world. I can't wait to see what you make of this chapter and very much look forward to your reactions.**

 **xx-Kitten.**

* * *

 **Brightest Nights or Darkest Days**

 _By Kittenshift17_

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 **CHAPTER THIRTEEN**

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When they finally reached the town just before nightfall, Zuko was tired, cranky, and ready to throttle Meng. He'd thought Katara had been annoying with the way she alternated between prattling idly to fill the time, and falling silent in contemplation, fatigue or boredom. Meng was a thousand times worse because Meng didn't _ever_ seem to fall silent. The whole day had been spent, trudging along, listening to her endlessly exclaiming over the Katara's Bending skills as she cleared the road for them to travel. Or over how cute the trees looked, all bent over and hunched beneath heavy blankets of snow.

She'd prattled about the sight of small animals trying to go about their lives and keep from starving. She'd excitedly exclaimed over the delight it was whenever they encountered other travellers searching for missing loved ones due to separation during the storm. She'd cost them almost half their travel time, insisting on making conversation with everyone they met. The only blessing had been that all of them had been travelling in the opposite direction, otherwise Zuko was certain the girl would've asked them to come along.

For the most part, Katara had managed to keep her occupied in the sense of having her regale them all with stories about her boring childhood as a means to keep her from constantly squealing with excitement whenever she spotted an animal. Zuko had begun to suspect that wherever she'd come from, she'd led a very sheltered life, unable to see the world. In fact, between her wonder at the world around her, the nigh on constant way she hung off Kuzon, shagged Kuzon, or otherwise kept as close to him as humanly possible, Zuko had begun to the think the girl had actually run away from her family to be with Kuzon.

It was something he planned to confront the other Fire Bender about just as soon as he wouldn't have to listen to Meng interrupting every five seconds.

"The hotel first?" Katara asked when they _finally_ reached the outskirts of town.

"Oh, we're going to stay in a hotel?" Meng asked excitedly. "That will be fun. Do you think they'll have rooms? They might all be taken. Not that I'd mind sleeping in an igloo again. That was fun. I think I'd like to visit a Water Tribe village or city one day. I liked the ice walls and the cosiness, even if it was colder than I'm used to."

"Meng?" Kuzon asked of his girlfriend before Zuko could actually tell her to shut her pie hole.

"Yes?" she asked, looking up at the Fire Bender with big innocent eyes, completely naïve and oblivious to how annoying she really was.

"It's time to button the chatter, beautiful," Kuzon said, and Zuko could tell her chatter was getting to him too, even though he did a good job of hiding it. "There are Fire Nation soldiers in this village and they'll take issue with anyone drawing attention to themselves or causing trouble, you understand?"

"Oh." Meng frowned. "Am I being too loud? Gods, I've probably talked your ears off. Again. Sorry about that. I just like to talk, you know?"

Kuzon put his hand over her mouth before she could continue to justify herself.

"Hush," he told her. "Before Zuko actually pulls a knife on you. He's resisted valiantly all day, and I've got to tell you babe, I can't take him in a fight."

Meng's eyes went wide, eyeing Zuko. Zuko leered at her coldly in return before turning his attention to Katara.

"If anyone asks, my name if Lee," he told the other two, touching Katara's arm lightly in question when she suddenly stiffened, cocking her head to one side.

"There are soldiers coming," Katara said. "A patrol. We need to get out of sight. Zuko, keep your hood up and let me do the talking. We're just four kids looking to stay at the Inn, got it? Refugees heading for Ba Sing Se. Nothing else. No one says a word. Alright, Meng?"

Kuzon had his hand over the girl's mouth, but she nodded her agreement. Trudging once more, they all followed Katara's lead, keeping their hoods up, hunching into the weight of their packs, and make slow progress toward the flashing sign advertising rooms for rent at the Inn.

"Do you have enough coins?" Kuzon asked of Zuko in a mutter.

Zuko patted his coin-purse in return – full of stolen Fire Nation gold – and nodded.

"Rooming away from us?" Kuzon guessed.

Zuko glanced at the boy who'd once been his childhood friend. The truth was that Kuzon wasn't that bad. Zuko's only real gripe about him was that he and Meng were a package deal, and that he kept fucking his girlfriend when Zuko had to listen given Meng's inability to keep quiet, no matter her activity.

"If we can get room at the opposite ends of the hotel, I'll pay double," Zuko replied. He'd expected Kuzon to look insulted and he didn't quite know what to make of it when the other boy laughed instead.

"Sorry, Prince Zuko," he muttered. "Thank you for not killing her."

"Yeah. Since you insist on fucking her every other second, if you could at least shove something in her mouth to shut her up, I'd appreciate it," Zuko replied.

Kuzon smirked wickedly.

"We disturbed you? I thought you'd be used to having no privacy. You're the prince. You constantly have people invading your space, rubbing your feet, washing your hair, all that."

"When I was at the palace _they_ waited on me while I did whatever I wanted. _You_ are making me endure your pleasure. That's not how this works. I haven't enjoyed the supposed luxury of palace life in five years. Most of the time I barely tolerate the Water Bender."

Kuzon raised one eyebrow but before they could continue speaking, Katara shushed the pair of them and led them into the office of the Inn.

"Hello! Travellers? How exciting! Welcome to Madame Yin's Inn. Can I get you a room?"

"Two rooms," Katara said.

"Away from each other," Zuko added.

"Oh, wonderful. Two couples? Or are separate beds required?"

"Two couples," Katara answered for the four of them while Kuzon turned his attention to Meng, clasping her hands when she opened her mouth to argue with the idea of rooms apart or to spout nonsense about the sagging and dated décor.

Zuko handed over the money for the rooms when the woman asked for it, ensuring that they were actually given rooms at different ends of the hotel despite the way the clerk looked at him strangely.

"Should we freshen up and then meet for dinner?" Meng suggested brightly.

Zuko couldn't contain his groan.

"Why don't we fend for ourselves tonight and see how things look tomorrow?" Kuzon suggested instead, laughing at Zuko's reaction while Katara began flailing for some kind of excuse to avoid spending any more time with the other two.

"Oh," Meng said, looking sad. "Alright. I suppose it has been a long day. I guess… we'll see you tomorrow, then?"

"We'll see you in the morning, Meng," Katara nodded. "Unless the blizzard picks up again, I expect we'll wander about a bit in search of our missing friends, get some more supplies, and then be on our way again."

"So soon?" Meng frowned.

"You can stay longer, if you like," Zuko suggested. "You don't _have_ to travel with us."

From the amused expression on Kuzon's face, Zuko knew that the other boy found his attitude and his frustration with Meng hilarious but he was too tired and too cranky to care.

"Of course we want to keep travelling with you, don't we, Kuzon? Katara and Z…Lee are great. And we're all travelling in the same direction. We might as well go together," Meng said, almost slipping up and using his real name.

"Let's just get some rest tonight, Meng," Kuzon said. "I'm sure Lee and Katara wouldn't leave without us."

He tugged on her hand, pulling the chatty girl away in the direction of their room and Zuko pitied the poor fool that he had to spend the whole night in her presence, too.

"It would be very wrong of us to leave without them, wouldn't it?" Katara muttered to him, tugging his sleeve gently before making for the room they'd been given – mercifully on a different floor and at the other end of the hotel.

"No."

Katara laughed at him, and it amused Zuko that she was as frustrated with Meng as he was.

"She just doesn't stop talking," Katara complained. "I wonder if this is how Aang and Sokka felt about me in the beginning."

"You don't talk _that_ much," Zuko informed her. "I'd have told you to shut your pie hole if you did."

"You did tell me to shut my pie hole when we were travelling the first day, before we ran into them," Katara reminded him. "And you haven't told her to shut her pie hole."

"I didn't think I'd manage it without violence," Zuko replied.

Katara laughed again as she unlocked the room they'd paid for, dumping her pack on the floor and beginning to peel herself out of the layers of clothing she'd worn for trudging through the snow all day.

"Give me all your things," she said over her shoulder as she wandered toward the bathroom within their small room. "I think five days' worth of wear warrants another wash, don't you?"

"For me, or the clothes?" he asked.

"Both," she told him. "It's a copper bathtub. I'll fill it, you heat it, deal?"

"Planning to share it with me?" he smirked as he followed her, setting his pack down at the end of the bed and removing his weapons before stripping slowly out of his outer layers.

Katara scoffed. "I don't share."

"Of the two of us, I'm supposed to be the spoiled prince, remember?"

She rolled her eyes at him while untangling part of her shirt from her hair where it had gotten stuck.

"Just heat the tub, Zuko," she replied, Bending water in through the bathroom window to fill it.

"Are you going to do laundry first, or bathe first? I'm not waiting around naked if you're going to soak for an hour and aren't planning to let me join you," Zuko told her, noting when he entered the bathroom that it was a large tub – definitely big enough for two.

"I get the feeling that sharing the tub would be a very bad idea," she muttered, frowning slightly when she'd stripped down to just her sarashi wraps.

"As opposed to sharing the bed?"

"We're not naked in bed," she reminded him.

As though he could have forgotten? Every night he crawled into the bedroll next to her, all but naked, with his fingers itching to run across her soft skin and every night he kept his hands to himself despite the throbbing ache in his groin and the thickest sexual tension he'd ever had with anyone, ever. Zuko pulled his shirt off over his head until he was standing only in his undershorts before Fire Bending the bathwater until steam rose from it and it bubbled slightly with the heat. He found a bottle of bubble-bath and dumped some of it into the water before heating it even more to make them foam.

He met her gaze, smirking, before very deliberately lowering his hands to his shorts, planning to strip out of them and climb into the tub. His eyes dared her to keep watching and he smirked all the more when her cheeks flushed crimson, trailing over his body heatedly.

"Do the bubbles count as being not naked, Water Bender?" he asked, laughing very softly when she looked away while he stripped before he got into the tub.

He was momentarily distracted by the pure pleasure of the warmth and comfort of the hot water soothing his aching muscles and warming his chilled form. Katara looked over sharply at the sound when he sank down into the water to his chin, sighing and relaxing.

"You're not making this easy, Zuko," she complained quietly, frowning at him.

"Feeling a little _tense_ , Water Bender?"

She made a sound of frustration before throwing her shirt at him. It landed over his face and he got the feeling she'd appreciate it if he left it there long enough for her to strip when he heard her muttering about her wraps, and what a jerk he was, and how horrible Meng and Kuzon were for being so inappropriate.

When the water sloshed slightly, Zuko smirked, waiting for her to settle into the water, leaning her back against the other end of the bathtub. He suspected he was doomed when, just as he'd done, she groaned at the warmth and the pleasure of being submerged.

"Decent yet?" he asked, pulling the shirt from over his face to regard her carefully from the other end of the tub.

She was blushing pink, the bubbles hiding her naked form from view, her fingers tapping out a beat against the edge of the bathtub.

"This was a bad idea," she said, frowning slightly when he regarded her for several long minutes in silence, simply watching her. She was nervous, he could tell. If he was being honest, he was nervous too. The only time he'd ever spent naked with a girl had been paid for and they tended to want to get them job done before they went on their way with their coins.

"You're worried about the reaction of your friends if they find out you've been travelling with me, let alone if they find out you shared a bath with me," he said.

She nodded. "To them, you're still the enemy who keeps trying to kill us. If Sokka could see us…"

"If Sokka could see us, I'd be asking what he was doing bursting in on his sister while she was bathing," Zuko said. She snorted, rolling her eyes at him.

"You'd be having to defend your own life if he did that," she told him.

"I can take him in a fight," Zuko shrugged. "I've done it before."

"It's still a bad idea," she said.

"Because they'll be angry with you?"

"Well, that and because you're still Prince of the Fire Nation, Zuko. You're Fire Nation royalty and I'm just some nobody from the Southern Water Tribe. We're currently stuck together to travel, but this will get awkward, fast, if we…" she trailed off, looking away.

Zuko supposed she had a point. If he fucked her and it was terrible or it made things awkward, travelling together would be a nightmare. Then again, he'd already been kissing her and it wasn't awkward. It felt good and it made him want to do a whole lot more than just kiss her. But what about after? He'd told her that he no longer planned to capture the Avatar; that he would overthrow his father and take over as a Fire Lord who could end the war.

But that wouldn't be easy. It would certainly suggest that, if the Avatar would have him, Zuko could be the one to teach the kid Fire Bending. Which would mean more time spent around Katara. Eventually though, he would have to take his crown, and what then? He suspected even after spending barely a week with the little Water Bender that she wasn't the type of girl that he could just walk away from. If he fucked her, there might be no going back.

How would his people react to that idea, he wondered. Would they accept a Water Bender as their Fire Lady? He doubted it. They accepted Fire Benders and non-Benders and no one else. Though if he planned to make a show of ending the war and pushing for cooperation and amends with the other Nations, taking a Water Tribe girl for a wife would set quite the example.

Zuko frowned, realising he was spending entirely too much time with her if he was considering how his Nation might react should he _marry_ her. Katara was right. This _was_ a bad idea. They were doomed to failure if they got involved with each other, he was sure of it. Could they walk away at the end of anything sexual or even, potentially, something romantic without ending up enemies once more?

He'd only been travelling with her for a short time, but he'd found he secretly enjoyed her. She annoyed him in the sense that everyone in the world annoyed him merely by existing, but as company went, she was better than most. She didn't harp on at him to do anything he didn't want to do or lecture him about how to be a better person the way Uncle did. She didn't prattle incessantly like Meng, and she was better company than Kuzon. She was easy going and tended to go with the flow, very rarely letting his foul temper bother her unless it was to provoke him to an even higher rage for the sake of making him realise he was being a jerk.

She was fun to spar with and unlike everyone he'd ever known, she actually played with him. She made jokes at his expense, invaded his personal space whenever it suited her, teased him, toyed with him, threw snowballs at him for the fun of it and she knew when to draw the line to keep from turning light hearted fun into something else. Worse, she walked around with that tight, powerful little figure hidden away under her many layers each day until bed-time, when she stripped them all off and climbed into bed with him, snuggling into his arms and letting him steal her body heat.

Even more confusing was the way their chi brushed together, his so often enveloping hers and making him tingle. He didn't understand that at all and he was more than a little desperate to find his uncle just to ask what it was all about and what it meant.

"It's a terrible idea for a hundred reasons," Zuko agreed with her quietly, looking down at the bubbles separating their bodies for a minute, shifting slightly when she tried to get more comfortable, her foot sliding under his calf to curl around the back of his knee as she reclined more fully against the far end of the bathtub.

"I mean, if it was just going to be short-lived interaction and we'd go our separate ways soon, it would be less complicated. But if you're planning to turn traitor to your father's rule to help bring him to justice and end this war, then you're probably the best bet Aang has at learning Fire Bending, Zuko. If you actually mean to work against Ozai, then I know we could use your help. Aang still needs to master Water Bending, and he needs to find an Earth Bending teacher first, but he'll need a Fire Bending teacher soon, too. You could… well, I don't know what your plans are, but if you want to help us take down Ozai, I think Sokka and Aang might forgive all the attempts you made to capture Aang or kill us."

She held his gaze seriously for a long moment, looking like she might not even mind the idea of spending a good deal longer with him, even after they found her friends and his Uncle. She looked hopeful that he'd been serious about switching sides and working toward reclaiming his birth-right through means that didn't involve sacrificing the Avatar.

Zuko wondered how she thought they would pull that off when they'd been kissing for the sake of their charade and when that meant spending even more time together. With the sexual tension already palpable, he doubted they would survive putting anything more off for long. He knew his own strength of will was slipping. Spirits, he'd take her right now if he didn't think she'd object.

"I have to find my Uncle, first," he said, frowning a little.

Katara nodded and Zuko wondered what she was thinking about when she frowned a little too. Before he could ask, she opened her mouth to tell him.

"Will you stay?" she asked in a whisper, her bright blue eyes searching his face for some hint that he might actually stay and work with the Avatar to bring down his father.

"Do you want me to?" Zuko countered, wondering if she would be bold enough to admit one way or the other if she wanted to keep him around.

She opened her mouth like she might say something before closing it again and frowning deeper. She looked him over critically as she reclined against the end of the tub, her legs twisted up with his under the bubbly water. Her eyes travelled over the hair he'd been slowly growing out to better hide his scar and his identity as the Fire Prince. They travelled over his face, the harsh line of his oft-furrowed brow and the puckered flesh of his scar.

Finally, thoughtfully, she nodded her head. Zuko blinked slowly, absorbing the idea that she'd want him to stay.

"Why?" he asked.

"Why would I want you to stay?" she confirmed.

Zuko nodded.

Katara frowned again. "You challenge me," she said softly. "You don't expect me to pick up after you or rely on me to make sure you don't get sunburnt or that you've had enough to eat or that you've got clean clothes to wear. You challenge me to think about things from a perspective I hadn't considered and you challenge me to be a better fighter. I like sparring and training with you, and even though you're often the grumpiest person I've ever met, you do have a sense of humour buried under that layer of snobbish fury."

She grinned when he flicked her toes in punishment. Zuko was annoyed with himself for the little glow of happiness he felt deep inside when she listed some of the things she liked about him.

"Things would've been a lot easier if you'd never kissed me," he told her, eyeing her carefully in return.

"Maybe," she admitted. "But we'd likely have both been arrested if I hadn't."

"We've both escaped incarceration before," Zuko reminded her. Katara nodded in agreement. Yes, they'd both been captured before. Sometimes he'd been the one capturing her and her friends, and they always escaped. At the North Pole, after he'd captured Aang, he'd been tied up and hauled back to the Tribe's spiritual oasis, but he'd escaped that too. He'd freed the Avatar when Zhao had captured him, too. Neither of them were strangers to wiggling their way out of chains.

"Maybe I didn't think about that," she admitted, blushing a little. "It seemed like a good idea at the time. Actually, no, it seemed like I needed to get your attention before you got caught and I suspected that if I didn't latch onto you, you'd make a big scene claiming not to know me before realising it was me and then trying to take me captive, thinking you'd be able to use me to catch Aang."

Zuko smirked, knowing he'd likely have done exactly that had she not assaulted him. He continued to eye her, both of them watching the other from the far end of the bathtub, keeping their hands to themselves despite being naked together in such close proximity.

"So," she said finally, her cheeks turning pink once more. "We're agreed that anything other than the things we have to do for the sake of hiding your identity in the public eye is an ill-conceived idea?"

"No," he replied before he'd really thought through his answer.

Katara's head jerked up, her eyes wide as she stared at him.

"No?" she asked.

"The more we do out there, the more we're going to want to do in here," Zuko told her.

"Anything we do, anywhere, will be things we have to live with forever, Zuko," Katara said softly. "Do you understand that? We could have sex now, right here in this bathtub, but we'll have to live with it afterwards. We might temporarily feel better with the alleviation of tension, but are you going to be able to look me in the eye tomorrow? Or next week? Or next year? Are you going to be able to go on to become Fire Lord one day, knowing that you slept with me? If your Uncle or the people of the Fire Nation found out you'd slept with me, would you still think it had been a good idea? That it was worth the momentary dissipation of tension between us today?"

Zuko thought about it, wondering if she realised that the mere acknowledgement of the fact that she wanted to fuck him made him think that any consequence would be worth it as long as he didn't have to deal with one more awkward and painful erection in her presence that he couldn't relieve and was unable to will away. He thought about telling her as much, but suspected that she'd say no for the sake of making him think about it properly.

"What do _you_ want, Katara?" Zuko asked seriously. "Setting aside the obvious answer that you currently want me, what do you want? Release? Fun? A distraction? Or something else?"

He wondered if she would realise he was asking if she wanted this to turn into something else. They were already playing at being a couple, and Zuko wondered if maybe they should be. As she'd pointed out, she obviously liked some things about him. He could admit that he liked things about her too. He liked that she played and that she was quick to laugh and so easy going. He liked the way she occasionally forgot herself and would begin humming some Water Tribe song he'd never heard of, or the way she absently traced patterns on his skin when they were in bed at night, curled together for warmth and comfortable with one another.

"I don't know," Katara whispered. "I can't think clearly knowing you're sitting there naked."

"Do you want to…?" Zuko frowned, trailing off, realising he'd been about to ask if she wanted to be with him.

"I want to make sure this won't turn awkward, Zuko," she admitted. "Spirits, I want you, but I don't want to deal with you taking your temper out on me if we did anything and it was terrible or awkward. I don't want to deal with tip-toeing around you afterward, now or when we run into Iroh or Sokka and Aang. I don't want to try navigating the mess of something broken with you if you're planning to stick around and help Aang, Sokka and I defeat your father. I don't want to just be some quick thrill, either. If this was just something for the night and we were going our separate ways in the morning, I'd probably already be on your lap, but it's not. We're going to have to talk to each other tomorrow. We're going have to talk to each other weeks from now."

"You know the only way to find out if it will be awkward is to roll the dice, don't you?" Zuko asked, raising his only eyebrow at her.

She sighed, closing her eyes and slumping back against the edge of the tub, nodding her head slowly.

"It hasn't been awkward so far," he added when she didn't say anything for several minutes.

Katara laughed. "Yes, it has!"

"Not because we've been kissing," Zuko argued. "If it's been awkward so far it's because we've _only_ been kissing, whilst both tense and wanting to do more. Don't deny it, I _know_ you're attracted to me, Water Bender."

"I'm sure it wouldn't be this bad if the other two weren't constantly at each other," Katara said.

Zuko doubted that.

"It _was_ this bad before they turned up," he disagreed. "If it hadn't been, you wouldn't have been stripping me and kissing me on the bed when those two morons showed up."

Katara sighed again, her cheeks turning pink. Her eyes were still closed and she looked like she didn't want to talk about it anymore. Sighing softly himself, Zuko realised that she needed more time to think about it all and as frustrating as it was to even contemplate waiting when he wanted her now, he _would_ wait. He was a Fire Bender, after all, he was no stranger to the need for restraint and he wouldn't push her.

Reaching for a wash cloth and the soap that had been set on a little table by the bath, he wet the towel and soaped it up, submerging himself completely for a moment before scrubbing at his travel-grimy skin. Katara opened her eyes when he nudged her leg, handing her a second wash cloth and the soap. She frowned slightly for a moment.

Zuko suspected she was going to protest the idea of bathing fulling when he was in the tub with her, given that the soap would kill all the bubbles and that eventually, they were going to see each other naked. He decided he didn't care about that. She'd seen almost all of him already, and she'd certainly touched almost every square inch of his body in her sleep through his clothes. He suspected that eventually, after some more hesitation from her, she was going to give in and fuck him. Until then, she could get used to the sight of him naked – maybe it would make her feel more comfortable with the idea.

When he was clean and sick of soaking, the tension between them increasing the longer they sat and bathed in silence, Zuko met her eyes.

"What do you want for dinner?" he asked seriously.

"I don't know," she admitted.

"I'll bring you something," he said.

"You're going out again?" she asked. "Without me?"

"You wanted to do laundry," he reminded her. "Come with me if you want to, or stay and finish washing your hair and doing whatever else you want to do. I'll get food and come back."

"We should ask around to see if Iroh, Sokka or Aang are here," Katara said. "And it would make more sense for me to go out alone, than you. This village is crawling with soldiers. They'll recognise you."

Zuko frowned. He needed to get away from her, or he was liable to test his own self-control, especially if she was planning on standing up out of the tub and revealing herself to him.

"What do you think they'll do to you if they think you're travelling alone or lost?" he challenged.

She sighed. "Well, then we'll have to go together, won't we? Just… do you have a change of clothes in your pack?"

Zuko nodded. He'd stolen a few pairs of the fire-nation clothes for soldiers from the barracks they'd raided so that he'd have something warm and durable to wear under his outer coat.

"Alright, then let's get out and we'll go. The laundry can soak until we get back," said Katara.

Zuko nodded before smirking to himself just a little bit as he levered himself up and out of the tub without giving her any warning. The sharp gasp of her indrawn breath when she caught sight of him in all his naked glory made Zuko laugh.

"Zuko!" she hissed, clapping her hand over her eyes.

"What?" he asked, feigning innocence as he grabbed one of the towels from the rack and wrapped it around himself. He hissed when she used her Bending to pull all the water from his skin without looking.

He laughed harder when she peeked between her fingers before he'd fully secured his towel, whimpering as she covered her eyes again.

"You can look, Water Bender," he told her. "I don't mind. I'm used to having peasants see me naked."

That got her looking. She glared at him for the peasant remark and Zuko smirked. "Getting out?"

"Not with you watching," she said.

"Wimp."

Katara spluttered with indignation. "I'm _not_ a wimp. I just think it's a bad idea to let you see me naked when you're already making a tent of that towel."

Zuko glanced down at the front of the towel he wore. It was tented high with his arousal and he smirked, lifting his eyes back to look at her.

"All those bubbles are gone, Water Bender," he pointed out, nodding indicatively at the bath-water. It was a little milky from their bathing, but he could clearly see her through it.

She gasped, clapping her hands over her breasts and Zuko laughed again.

"Just get out and get dry so we can go, would you?" he asked. "I'm not going to jump you just because I happen to see you naked."

She narrowed her eyes at him and Zuko realised she'd taken it as a challenge when she let go of her boobs, levered herself up in the bath and stood in all her naked, dripping wet glory. If his body wasn't already standing at attention, it would've done then. He'd gotten a peek at her the last time they'd shared a bathing space before leaving the last town, but to see her defiantly glaring at him whilst waiting to be given her towel was something else entirely.

Digging deep for his restraint, Zuko handed her the towel, his eyes fixed on her face no matter how badly he wanted to drink in the sight of her naked. She made a face when he gave her the towel without looking and he smirked, knowing that she'd been torn between wanting him to look - maybe even to be overcome with lust - and wanting him to prove that he could be a gentleman when the need arose. When she began drying off, bending the water from her skin before wrapping the towel around herself, Zuko left the bathroom to raid his pack for something clean to wear.

She followed and Zuko hid his smirk when she returned to the bathroom to dress despite the fact that he'd dropped the towel where she could get another glimpse at him before dressing. When she returned - fully clothed once more - she handed him his outer coat for warmth.

"What do you want to eat?" she asked as they left the hotel room, venturing out into the cold once more in search of a meal they wouldn't have to cook themselves.

"Something hot," Zuko muttered, looping his arm around her shoulders and tucking her into his side to fight against the cold and to warn way the soldiers who were patrolling the street that began eyeing her the minute they spotted her.

"They serve tea and meals at that shop down there," Katara pointed with her free arm while looping the other around his waist. Zuko hid his reaction at how easily she did it, obviously unaware of the soldiers' interest in her and simply reacting to the fact that he'd hugged her first. "Do you think we'll hear anything about Sokka and Aang?"

She sounded hopeful that she might be reunited with her brother and her friend soon. Zuko knew the feeling. Every new village or town he'd entered since he'd been separated from his Uncle filled him with new hope to locate the man, but he wasn't holding out much hope for this village. Zuko doubted his Uncle would come here unless he had to, knowing the soldiers would be here and might recognise him. Not only was he on the Wanted posters, but he'd probably trained most of them before retiring from the war as a General after he'd lost Lu Ten.

"Don't get your hopes too high, Katara," Zuko muttered his lips by her ear. "They probably aren't here."

She sighed heavily as they made their way down the street, deflating a bit at the thought that maybe she wouldn't find her friends just yet after all. The soldiers passed them in silence, dismissing them at the thought that they were just some young couple on their way out for dinner and illustrating to Zuko all over again that the ranks of the Fire Nation army seemed filled with absolute idiots. They were two new faces in town and they could be anybody. Logic dictated that they should at least be spoken to or questioned of any suspicious activity but the soldiers seemed more interested in getting out of the cold that in focusing on two people in Earth Kingdom garb taking an evening stroll.

"We need to buy supplies before we leave tomorrow," Katara said, glancing up at him quickly to make sure he was listening when they were almost at the restaurant.

Zuko glanced down to meet her gaze and realised she was silently asking whether he planned to purchase supplies in the town, or to raid the local barracks for what he wanted.

"We'll do some shopping in the morning when the markets open," he said, seeing no reason to draw more attention to them after the amount of attention the Blue Spirits had drawn in the last town. If they got caught again, the Fire Nation might just be clever enough to figure out which way he was headed and he didn't want that. He'd prefer to use the money they'd stolen from the barracks to buy things they needed instead.

Katara nodded her head, smiling a little and Zuko could tell she preferred to be honest and buy things rather than steal them - not just because of the risk if they got caught, but because she was generally a law-abiding person. Most of the time he did too. He saw no problem with stealing from his own Nation – after all, he was their Prince and his family had probably funded whatever supplies they'd been given – but he didn't like to steal from the struggling people in these little Earth Kingdom villages. Their lives were hard enough without thieves.

The thought floored him as he had it and Zuko realised with a small jolt that he didn't see the other Nations as the enemy or as nuisances who stood in the way of what he wanted anymore. They were just… people. People with lives and families and friends and pets, and they didn't deserve to have all of that uprooted and taken away because his father's – his Nation's – bloodlust and thirst for power was endless.

He'd been thinking for a while that he didn't like the ruthlessness of his people, but as the thought occurred to him that he wanted to do better and be better, and that he wanted to end the war and redeem his Nation, Zuko suddenly knew what he was going to do. Yes, he would find his Uncle. Maybe they would go to Ba Sing Se, maybe they wouldn't. That would depend on Katara and on the Avatar. Because if he was going to turn full blown traitor and betray his people in order to save them, he was going to do it with the help of this bright-eyed little Water Bender and the world's last hope.

Katara made a little noise of surprise when Zuko used his grip on her shoulders to steer her around in front of him, his free hand coming up to grip her chin and tilting her mouth to his. He kissed her deeply right there in front of the busy shop for all to see. She melted against him, their chi sliding together, pressing and touching and settling together in a way that he was sure he was growing addicted to. She made a soft sound between pleasure and confusion and Zuko swallowed it, wanting to devour her, hoping that she'd make up her mind about letting him have her soon.

Because he realised right then that he wanted her. He didn't know if he even _liked_ her, let alone loved her – or if he was even capable of love - but he wanted her. He knew he liked kissing her and that he was going to like doing whatever else she'd let him do with her. He knew that when he thought about the plans he was beginning to make for his future, he'd begun calculating her into them. Maybe as his girlfriend – maybe not. That would depend on her. But Zuko knew he needed her help and that he wanted to help her take down his father and right the balance of the world again.

It hit him like a blow to the solar plexus, knocking the wind out of him and almost bowling him over. When Katara broke the kiss, pulling back to blink up at him dazedly for a moment, she looked surprised and confused but a smile was spreading across her slightly swollen lips.

"What was that for?" she asked breathlessly, glancing around for some source of trouble that he might be trying to hide from by kissing her.

Zuko didn't answer, he simply took her hand and led her into the restaurant, not even noticing the rather chubby man with long grey hair who was watching him with happiness and confusion and wonder all at once.


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N: Look! Look! Another new update for you to devour and well inside a week. Aren't you pleased? Thanks ever so much to all of you who've been reading and especially those who take the time to review. I'm thrilled you're enjoying the story and I can't wait to see what you make of the events of this chapter. One small note, however, is to those small few of you who seem to think the story will soon be at an end, you are sorely mistaken. This is barely even the beginning. *winks***

 **xx-Kitten**

* * *

 **Brightest Nights or Darkest Days**

 _By Kittenshift17_

* * *

 **CHAPTER FOURTEEN**

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General Iroh of the Fire Nation had been expecting trouble when he'd made his way into the village where most of the Fire Nation weapons were made for use within the war to conquer the Earth Kingdom. He'd been searching for his nephew and he'd been skulking along whenever he could, remaining undetected and getting by as best he could without drawing too much attention to himself.

Yes, he'd expected a certain amount of trouble given that he wasn't too hard to recognise, no matter that he was a little longer around the middle than he'd been when training soldiers for war as their General. He hadn't expected to stumble across his nephew in plain sight of many an oblivious soldier, kissing a girl in the front of the restaurant Iroh had slinked into in search of a well-brewed cup of tea to warm his chilled bones.

He hadn't expected it, but for a reason he didn't fully understand, it made him happy. When the pair broke the kiss and the girl looked around worriedly, as though thinking Zuko had kissed her for the sake of hiding something or distracting her from something, Iroh spat his tea. Not that he minded, given that it tasted terrible.

It was the Water Tribe girl – the Waterbender who'd been travelling with the Avatar. The one that, on more than one occasion, Zuko had captured, tied up, defeated in combat and routinely threatened every time they caught up to them in his hunt for the Avatar. Iroh frowned, noting the way the girl smiled a little as though she were pleased about the kiss. He was thrilled to see his nephew but he was suspicious, too. What were they doing together?

They were enemies the last time Iroh had looked. Was the girl using Zuko to find her friends? Was Zuko using her to find the Avatar? It would make the most sense, but when Zuko took her hand, lacing his fingers with hers, and led her into the restaurant, Iroh didn't think that was it. He wondered how they had overcome their enmity to be kissing rather than duelling one another to begin with.

Zuko didn't notice him, intent on finding the two of them a table, but the little Waterbender – Katara – was scanning the restaurant for some sign of her friends or trouble and her blue eyes settled on him immediately.

Iroh smiled a little, letting the girl know that he'd recognised them and making a small motion of greeting, hoping they would have the presence of mind not to make a big scene in his reunion with his nephew. She was clever, Iroh realised, nudging Zuko and nodding in his direction. Zuko looked over in question, their eyes meeting and Iroh felt a squeeze in his chest when the young man whom he thought of as a son suddenly smiled wider than Iroh could recall ever seeing him smile.

The Waterbender kept hold of Zuko's hand when he made to rush toward him in greeting, slowing his pace and anchoring him, making him take his time as though this was a planned meeting and not a reunion.

"Uncle!" Zuko greeted him when the pair reached Iroh's table. Iroh stood quickly, reaching for the front of Zuko's shirt and pulling him into a tight embrace.

His nephew hugged him back tightly enough to make him wince and Iroh wondered how this had all come to be when, upon being released by Zuko, Katara leaned over and hugged him in greeting, too.

"Mushi," she said, apparently knowing enough of his and Zuko's cover story to know the name he was using, making Iroh all the more suspicious. "It's so good to see you."

"And you," Iroh said. "Let's have a seat and some tea."

He waved for their waiter, who hurried over to help them join another table to Iroh's, adding two more chairs for the two newcomers.

"Where have you been?" Zuko asked, leaning close immediately, his eyes serious. Iroh noticed that despite the way his attention was now fixed on him, Zuko didn't let go of Katara's hand. She was watching him too, smiling gently, before accepting the menus the server gave them and ordering a pot of Jasmine and Ginseng tea.

"Oh, I've been around. Caught in the storm," Iroh said, smiling widely. "And you, nephew?"

"Looking for you. Heading toward Ba Sing Se," Zuko shrugged. He seemed to realise they couldn't talk freely in a restaurant full of people who might betray them to the Fire Nation and he sat back slightly.

"And Katara is here," Iroh smiled at the girl. "Where are your friends?"

"Also heading for Ba Sing Se," Katara told him. "We were separated in the storm. I ran into Lee last week and we've been searching for all of you since."

Iroh frowned slightly, looking over at Zuko. The look on his nephew's face suggested it was a long story.

"Where are you staying, Uncle?" Zuko asked, leaning forward again.

"At the Inn, I hoped. If they have room for me," Iroh said. "I haven't asked yet."

"We are, too," Zuko nodded, glancing at Katara when she pried her hand from his to accept the fresh pot of tea and new cups brought over. She poured it expertly, allowing it to steep slowly before handing one over to Iroh and sliding one toward Zuko.

"Interesting," Iroh told his nephew. "Will you be eating with me tonight?"

"Of course we will," Katara smiled. "Spirits, I'm starving. All that walking today has certainly worked up my appetite."

"The walking, or the effort it took to refrain from killing Meng?" Zuko asked her, smirking.

Katara smirked back. "Both. Wait… they're not here, are they? Stars, don't let them come here or spot us. You know she'll insist on joining us for dinner."

"Meng?" Iroh asked.

"We ran into an old friend on the road," Zuko said, his lips twisting. "Do you remember Kuzon? The kid who used to sneak into the palace and play with me when I was a boy? His mother was banished when Mother disappeared."

Iroh nodded.

"He and his girlfriend, Meng, needed our help on the road and we've been travelling with them for four days," Zuko explained.

"She talks incessantly," Katara told him. "Which would be fine, but a running commentary on every thought passing through someone's head is actually exhausting to listen to."

"Katara wouldn't let me murder her," Zuko said darkly. "I still think we should have left them to the wolves."

"The wolves?" Iroh asked, alarmed.

"Yeah. They showed up where we'd made camp on the road between here and the village over, being chased by hungry wolves thanks to the blizzard," Zuko said. "We've been stuck in close quarters with them for three days."

Iroh suspect that there must be a very good story behind all his nephew had been up to since they parted ways. He didn't ask though. Not yet. Not when they might be overheard.

"Should we order something to eat?" he asked. "I am very hungry."

"Me too," Katara said. "Oh, I think I'll have the Fire Flakes and rice."

Their server returned and Iroh watched the pair of kids order before placing his own meal order. He wanted to know everything his nephew had been doing, how Katara had come along and why Zuko had been kissing her. But he wouldn't ask yet. For now he would drink his tea, and wait.

~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~

Katara could tell that General Iroh had questions and that he was confused over seeing Zuko kiss her. She was confused herself, since she couldn't see any reason for him to have done so. No one had looked twice at him in the shop, despite his scar. He hadn't explained before trying to find them a table and she got the feeling that, reunited with his Uncle once more, he wasn't going to.

She wondered what he would do now. Would he turn on her once more, enemies again? Would he ditch her for the sake of travelling with his Uncle without having to put up with her? She didn't know. She didn't even know if she could trust him and the thought jolted through her that half an hour ago she'd very seriously considered having sex with him despite not knowing if she trusted him or even liked him.

There could be no denying that he was still ruthless and still unpredictable. He might very well turn on her and take her captive to use as a means of luring Aang to himself for capture. He might turn her over to the soldiers, claiming that she was connected to the Avatar. He might do nothing and simply abandon her to keep searching for her friends by herself. She just didn't know and she was confused and worried as she sat there making nice and pretending that she was his girlfriend for the sake of the crowd.

If she weren't so hungry, she'd have suggested they all just leave the restaurant so that he and Iroh could properly reunite where no one would recognise them, but she was too hungry to do so and for the time being he didn't seem to be planning to ditch her. Katara had been shocked that he hadn't dropped her hand as soon as they'd spotted Iroh, if she was being honest. She'd been shocked when even after hugging his Uncle, he'd taken her hand once more as they sat down at the table and she'd order the tea.

She could tell Iroh was suspicious about it and that he didn't know what to make of all this. She didn't know herself, since she'd been half-expecting Zuko to tell her to get lost now that he'd found who he'd been searching for.

"Have you been here long, Uncle?" Zuko asked.

"I arrived today," Iroh shook his head. "I haven't checked into the hotel yet. Until now I had been travelling up through the towns to the west of here."

Zuko nodded and Katara frowned since Zuko had been travelling from the south of here. He'd said they'd been separated over a stupid fight just before the blizzard, but their differing routes made her think that they'd perhaps been separated for a little while longer than that. She wondered how long it had actually been since Zuko had seen his Uncle and she darted a glance between them, hoping their food would come quickly so they could all get out of there and get on with the real talking.

Small talk was awkward.

"Urgh," Zuko groaned when his meal arrived and he'd taken the first bite.

"That bad?" Katara asked, eyeing his dish.

"Try it," he said, handing her his utensils and picking up his tea to rinse his mouth out.

Katara did, noting again that Iroh looked confused by his willingness to share utensils, food, and personal space with her. She took a bite of his meal and frowned at him.

"It tastes fine," she said. "What's wrong with you?"

"It tastes horrible," Zuko corrected her before stealing her bowl from her when it arrived and forking a mouthful out of it for himself. When he made a face at the flavour of her food too, Katara began to giggle.

"What?" he demanded.

"There's nothing wrong with the food," she told him. "Look at your Uncle. He thinks it tastes fine, too. It's not the food that's the problem."

Zuko glanced at his Uncle, who was heartily digging into his own meal with gusto.

"You're already too used to my cooking and the way I flavour food and that's why this tastes funny to you. It's probably too spicy for you after what I make," Katara giggled, entirely too amused that he was complaining about food flavoured as though it had been made in his homeland.

"It's not too spicy. I like things spicy," Zuko argued, snatching his bowl back and taking another bite. He made another face but he didn't complain again and Katara laughed all the more that he thought he had to prove that he still liked food from his own people's cuisine rather than Water Tribe food or Earth Kingdom dishes.

Iroh was chuckling too as Zuko continued to make faces with every bite and Katara stole several more mouthfuls of Zuko's dish, enjoying it immensely. He didn't object, though his Uncle's face suggested that the idea of Zuko sharing food with anyone was cause for great worry, indeed.

Katara suspected that in large part the sense of ease and coziness she felt with Zuko stemmed from their ever-touching chi. She didn't understand it in the slightest, but she knew that when she wasn't tense with the sexually charged energy fizzing between them, she felt very comfortable in his presence. In the beginning she'd been too nervous to notice, but after spending three days living Water Tribe style in an igloo with him for friendship, support, comfort and general company whenever she wanted to get away from Meng's chatter, she'd grown used to him. Curling up beside him every night meant that she'd become accustomed to being inside his personal space and she'd grown rather used to sharing things with him.

It had started with him offering her jerky on the first night and simply grown from there. He tended to offer her some of whatever he was eating, even if she'd cooked it and had some for herself already and if he minded the way she invaded his space, he hadn't said so. For all that he was grumpy, surly, rude and downright mean most of the time, he didn't seem to mind when she did things he – as a Prince – was unaccustomed to. She'd noticed that Kuzon had eyed him strangely when he'd let her invade his space to sit between his knees when she wanted to lean against him while chattering with the other couple, and that the way he'd shared his food with her whenever he ate had baffled the other Fire Bender.

She could tell that as a spoiled prince, Zuko was used to never sharing and to always being waited on hand and foot – or had been until he'd become an outcast and a fugitive. Kuzon and Iroh's reactions told her that much. She blamed their chi and the fact that even now, she could feel the heat and familiar comfort of his chi curled protectively around her own.

"I think there's another blizzard brewing," she said suddenly whilst listening to Zuko telling Iroh that tomorrow they would be buying new supplies and going on their way once more.

"No," Zuko growled as though his refusal of the fact might make the Spirits change their minds and cancel the blizzard.

"Yes," Katara said. "It's snowing harder out there."

Zuko looking royally annoyed.

"Well, better it kicks up again here where we don't have to listen to Meng and Kuzon fucking like rabbaroos, I guess," he muttered.

Iroh choked on his tea at Zuko's words.

"I wish he was kidding, Mushi," Katara sighed. "Unfortunately our new friends are rather… er… forthcoming with their affection for one another, no matter their audience."

"They sound lovely," Iroh said and Katara couldn't entirely tell if he was being sarcastic or not. "If the blizzard is brewing once more, perhaps we should be on our way. I would not like to miss out on a room if someone else claims it thanks to the weather."

Katara nodded, stealing one last bite of Zuko's food right off his fork, taking his hand and directing the utensil to her mouth to snatch it before he could eat it.

"Hey!" he protested, narrowing his eyes on her.

"Yes?" Katara smiled innocently despite her chipmunk cheeks full of food.

"That was mine," Zuko protested.

"Do you want it back?" Katara said, using her tongue to slide the piece of meat she'd stolen to balance between her teeth, showing it to him. He glared at her for a moment.

"What if I do?" he asked.

Katara grinned.

"Take it then," she said around the food.

"I'd rather you didn't," Iroh said, though he looked amused, rather than disgusted.

"I'll get you for this, Water Bender," Zuko warned her quietly when he reached for the food like he might actually take it and she pulled it back into her mouth, chewed and swallowed before he could claim it.

"I'm just terrified," Katara rolled her eyes. "How will I sleep tonight for fear of your retribution?"

"Not next to me, with that attitude," Zuko said.

Katara actually laughed out loud as she got to her feet, tossing some coins on the table to pay for their food. "Maybe I'll actually get a good night's sleep for a change, rather than sweltering and trying to squirm free of your constrictive hold."

She dashed out of the shop ahead of him when he lunged at her playfully like he might tackle her or grab her into his hold once more. When she reached the street it was snowing quite hard and Katara giggled as she used her Bending to create a snowball. When Zuko followed her out of the shop with Iroh on his heels, Katara lobbed the snowball directly at the Fire Prince, hitting his square in the chest and watching snow spray across his chin.

"Hey!" he protested.

Katara laughed when he jumped off the porch of the shop into the street, stooping to make a snowball of his own and returning fire when she hit him with a second one. She threw one at Iroh too, for good measure, and the man began to laugh in spite of his shock while Zuko began attempting to pelt her with snowballs. Katara threw more at him, being careful not to aim for his face but having entirely too much fun spraying him with snow. She squealed when he gave up trying to throw them back, taking too long to make them compared to her. He charged her and Katara ran for it, laughing the whole way.

It was reckless going, the street icy and slick with snow, making the footing treacherous. She squealed a second time when he caught her, his arms closing around her before he lifted her right off her feet.

"Snowballs aren't fair, Water Bender," he told her. "You know I can't return fire with fireballs without getting us all caught."

"You deserved it for being stroppy over your dinner," she told him.

"You'll deserve it when I think of a proper punishment," he retorted, swinging her around in a circle, holding her aloft. Iroh followed them at a more sedate pace than their run, Zuko stopping to wait for his uncle when he'd set her down once more. Katara wondered what to make of it when he tucked her back into his side, his arm slung around her shoulders despite his uncle's confused gaze.

Iroh didn't ask, despite their playfulness and his obvious curiosity. They walked in silence back to the Inn.

"We need another room," Zuko told the clerk. "Does our room have an adjoining one?"

The clerk nodded and Zuko handed over the right money, waving away Iroh's coins when he tried to pay for it himself. Katara smiled as they made their way back to their room, Iroh having been put in the one right next to theirs that interconnected to the one she and Zuko were using. He went in and put down his things while Zuko unlocked their room and walked to the interconnecting door, opening it up and smiling at his Uncle.

Sensing that the questions were about to start, Katara took of her coat and went into the bathroom where their clothing had been soaking.

"Iroh?" she called from inside it. "Do you have anything you want laundered? I'm washing our things now."

"I didn't know the rooms had washers," he said, strolling into their room.

"They don't, Uncle," Zuko said. "She's a Water Bender. If you want something washed, throw it in."

"You don't mind, Katara? I don't desperately need anything cleaned," Iroh hedged, ever polite and thoughtful.

"It's really no trouble," Katara told him, already Bending to wash their things that had been soaking. "And I'm sure you have questions. You might as well get comfortable."

He chuckled.

"I have many, many questions," he conceded. Katara chuckled when he went back into his room to change, returning a few minutes later with his pile of dirty clothing, dressed in one of the hotel bathrobes. He put them into the tub with their things, looking intrigued as he watched her Waterbending.

"You and me, both, Unlce," Zuko muttered, leaning in the doorway too.

"Where have you come from?" Iroh asked first. "And how did the two of you find yourselves travelling together."

"I saved his life," Katara grinned, jumping in before Zuko could answer.

"Oh?"

"You did not," Zuko rolled his eyes.

"I started tracking him after spotting him on my travels two weeks ago," Katara told Iroh. "I was following him, knowing that if anyone would be able to find Sokka and Aang, it would be Zuko. I wasn't going to approach – what with him attacking us so often in the past – but then he nearly got himself caught by soldiers and I had to intervene."

"I wouldn't have been caught," Zuko argued.

"You would. The sun came out and you just stood there like a Morning Glory, soaking up the rays and letting your hood fall back. They saw your face and they were heading right for you. If I hadn't jumped you and hidden your scar, you'd have been captured."

"I'd have killed some soldiers and run for it, more like," Zuko grumbled.

"You were careless, and I saved your life," Katara insisted, before smiling at Iroh. "I was blown from Appa's saddle when the blizzard struck and I was pretty badly hurt, but I healed myself with my Bending. Unfortunately I had no idea where Aang or Sokka were after I woke up, so I started making my way to Ba Sing Se since we'd agree to all meet there if we ever got separated. I ran into Zuko not long after that."

"She jumped me in the street one village over. And then we got caught in that second bout of the blizzard and snowed into the abandoned building I'd been camping in for a few days," Zuko told his Uncle. "The place had broken windows and we had to share my bedroll and use hers for extra warmth. We raided the barracks there for supplies before we left when the blizzard broke but only got one day into travelling here before making camp and then being snowed in again just after Meng and Kuzon showed up."

"Three days trapped in an igloo makes for strange bedfellows," Katara informed the General.

"I'm not strange," Zuko said.

"Oh, yeah, sure you're not," Katara rolled her eyes. "And I'm not a Waterbender."

Zuko threw a fireball at her and Katara caught it with a water tentacle.

"When the blizzard broke again during the night we made a break for it to get here before we could run out of supplies or murder Meng," Katara told Iroh, who looked startled by their casual Bending. "And then we ran into you."

"Where have you been, Uncle? I've been looking for you everywhere. You have no idea how much tea I've had to drink just for the sake of scrounging tea-shop gossip for any hint of you," Zuko told his uncle.

"I travelled to an Earth Kingdom village known for its fine teas when you and I parted ways, Prince Zuko," the General said. "I was still there when the blizzard struck and had to make myself comfortable and stay awhile until it broke. After that I began to make my way to Ba Sing Se, knowing you would be going that way too."

"Oh!" Zuko said, hurrying out of the room. "Your tea."

Katara finished washing the clothes, her cheeks turning pink when she realised Zuko meant to give the General back his tea-box which contained her Golden Thread Tea. She let Iroh follow his nephew while loitering to continue washing and then drying the clothing rather than having to see Iroh's face when he realised that Zuko had let her use one of the canisters for Golden Thread Tea. She didn't want to see what the old man would say when he realised she was drinking it and she didn't think it would be anything but awkward to have him think she was drinking it because of Zuko. She _knew_ he'd seen them kissing outside the restaurant and that he had questions about it.

"What are you doing with Katara, Prince Zuko?" she heard the man ask in a low voice while Zuko rummaged around for the box.

"Travelling," Zuko said, sounding evasive.

"If you are planning to use her as leverage to capture the Avatar, you will have a fight on your hands, Zuko," Iroh warned him.

"I'm not," Zuko said and Katara strained to listen, Bending the water out of the clothing when it was clean and draining it all out the bathroom window, leaving the tub clean and empty before beginning to fold it all carefully, letting the two of them speak semi-privately.

"Then what are you doing? You are… sharing bedrolls and… throwing snowballs and she ate out of your bowl and…I saw you kissing her, Zuko," Iroh said, sounding very confused and concerned.

Zuko sighed. "For the sake of hiding my scar and travelling without drawing as much attention we've been… pretending to be a couple," he explained. "I… Actually I need to ask you something, Uncle. It's important."

Katara listened harder as she folded their individual piles of laundry.

"When I… touch her… or stand close enough it's… my chi and hers… well… they touch," Zuko stammered, trying to explain what he meant.

"What do you mean they touch? When you're Bending?"

"All the time," Zuko said. "If I stand close enough or I touch her I can feel my chi sliding against hers. If we stay close enough it… envelopes hers. Unless she's Bending. Uncle… she… she did this."

Katara listened to the sound of him wriggling out of his shirt and she realised he must be showing his uncle the bare expanse of his once-scarred back, now smooth and free of burns.

"She has healing abilities," Iroh said. "We knew that."

"She wasn't trying to heal me, Uncle," Zuko told him. "She was just tracing her fingers over my skin and her chi was rushing all around mine while the blizzard raged and when we slept I had… strange dreams… memories… but they weren't mine."

"You shared her dreams? Her memories?" Iroh asked, his voice suddenly urgent.

"I think so. There was lots of snow and ice and an old woman with kind eyes and a kid – her brother, I think, when they were younger. When I woke up the scars were gone and my chi was wrapped around hers once more."

"Have you had sex with her, Zuko?" Iroh asked, his tone too urgent to be anything but worried, rather than nosy or judgmental.

"No," Zuko said in a low voice. "Not for a lack of attraction, though. Why? What's wrong?"

"You said your chi wraps around hers?" Iroh asked. "In what way? Like a vine strangling an archway?"

Zuko was silent for a moment, clearly thinking about it carefully. To Katara his chi felt like a blanket, cocooning hers when they stayed close to one another, warming her and making her feel strangely safe and content.

"Mine usually wraps around hers like a blanket or a cloak," Zuko said. "It feels… protective. It feels good, Uncle."

Iroh was quiet for a moment and Katara wondered what kind of silent communication might be going on between nephew and uncle. Finishing folding the clothing, Katara separated them all into three piles based on who owned what and made her way back into the main room. She set Iroh's things on the table by the door into his room and carried Zuko's over to him, setting them down on the bed beside him before putting her own things back into her pack.

"That was fast," Iroh commented, smiling when Katara looked over at him.

"Bending makes laundry a five minute task," Katara smiled in return.

Iroh nodded his head.

"Have the two of you discussed the chi interaction you've been having?" Iroh asked quietly when Katara sat down on the end of the bed beside Zuko, not quite close enough to touch, but still close.

Zuko glanced over at her for a long moment, his cheeks turning pink at the fact that his Uncle had revealed what they'd been talking about on the off chance that Katara hadn't been eavesdropping.

"Not really," Katara shook her head, also blushing. "We've… acknowledged it, I suppose."

"Until today we hadn't even discussed things, really," Zuko admitted.

"Things?" Iroh raised one eyebrow.

Katara flushed crimson and Zuko shot his Uncle a look that suggested he was dense and Iroh's face flickered with amusement before his expression turned grave once more.

"Having had Meng and Kuzon in our faces with their rather inappropriate displays of affection has meant that Zuko and I… uh… well, we agreed before leaving the last town that any intimate physical contact would be for the purpose of faking a relationship to hide from the soldiers," Katara explained. "Meng and Kuzon are under the impression that we're a couple, given that we're travelling together and sharing the bedroll for warmth and such things. With them always around it's been difficult to discuss anything else without tipping them off that we're lying to them."

Iroh nodded thoughtfully, his eyes travelling between Katara and Zuko slowly.

"But you _have_ acknowledged that when you're together, your chi interacts? In a way it doesn't with anyone else's?"

"No one I've ever met," Zuko muttered, looking away.

"Since Zuko is the only Firebender I've ever had prolonged contact with, I'd wondered if it wasn't just a result of our opposing elemental ties that caused it," Katara said.

"You think it's based on our Bending?" Zuko asked, raising his eyebrow at her.

"There is an easy way to find out," Iroh told her. "If you don't mind sitting beside me for a few moments, that is?"

Katara smiled, not minding at all. She got up from the end of the bed and moved over to where Iroh was leaning against the desk. She knew that touch often triggered her chi's interaction with Zuko's, so she sat close enough beside the old man to be touching him. They all waited in silence, Zuko frowning slightly, to see what would happen.

Nothing happened. She could feel that like Zuko's did, Iroh's body temperature ran a little hotter than her own and he felt very warm, but her chi stayed perfectly lonely inside herself.

"Nothing?" Zuko guessed when she frowned slightly.

Katara nodded, standing once more and moving over to sit beside him once more, this time sitting close enough that her leg pressed against his. She didn't even really think about it as she reached for his hand, her fingers trailing down his bare forearm and noting the muscle definition there before smoothing her palm against his and interlocking their fingers. Zuko tensed but he didn't pull away.

Iroh watched the exchange closely and Katara wondered if he noticed the way Katara slowly relaxed into the feel of Zuko's chi when it curled around hers once more. She knew the old man was paying close attention both to her and to Zuko.

"It's happening now," Zuko said, in case Iroh couldn't tell.

"Katara, Zuko has explained how it feels when his chi touches yours. Would you mind doing the same?" Iroh asked quietly after taking several thoughtful sips from a cup of tea he'd brewed while she'd been doing the laundry.

Katara glanced sideways at Zuko, frowning slightly for a moment.

"It changes," she admitted, looking back at Iroh. "Most of the time it's a bit like… being wrapped in a warm blanket. It surrounds mine with warmth – which I thought would be uncomfortable, but it's not. Sometimes it changes though, depending on my mood, sometimes it's more like mine rushes all around his, like water over rock. That tends to happen if I'm bending at the time – unintentionally, usually. Actually, now that I think about it, something similar happens when I use my healing abilities to figure out what's wrong with someone whose sick or injured but it feels… different."

Katara frowned for a moment, before using her free hand to Bend some more tea into the cup Zuko held, feeling her chi rush along his.

"That didn't feel like what you did when you healed all the scars on my back," Zuko told her, also frowning.

"No," she agreed. "Meaning that when I did that I was just using my Healing abilities and it felt strange because you run hotter than other benders."

"Just now, what did it feel like?" Iroh asked. "Bending while your chis are touching?"

"Like rolling over inside a warm blanket to put your feet in the cold part of the sheets," Zuko said. "Or like flipping the pillow over to the cool side on a hot night."

"So, like a form of relief?" Iroh confirmed.

Zuko nodded.

"And for you, Katara?"

"A bit the same. Like pressing my feet to the side of the igloo when I get too hot during the night. Or kicking the top blanket off when it's too warm," she frowned. "But the rest of the time it's like his chi envelopes mine, surrounding it completely."

"Does it feel stifling?" Iroh wanted to know, frowning a little and looking thoughtful as he regarded the pair of them. "Does it feel like having your chi enveloped is a bad thing?"

Katara shook her head slowly, slanting a glance at Zuko before deciding to throw caution to the wind and admit the truth.

"It doesn't feel bad," she told Iroh softly. "It feels good. Comforting. Safe. That feeling makes me feel safe in Zuko's presence, despite the nasty history between the two of us. When our chi touches like that it feels like he couldn't possibly hurt me, even if he wanted to."

"Zuko?" Iroh asked, looking at his nephew. "Do you think you could hurt Katara?"

"I could," Zuko said. "But I don't really want to."

"We hurt each other all the time when we're sparring, though. It's mostly at night, curled together in the bedroll and playing " _If there wasn't a war…"_ that it feels like I can actually get a good night's sleep knowing Zuko is right there," Katara explained softly. "At least for me."

Zuko stared at her, his expression unreadable for a long moment, his golden-gaze alight with many fiery emotions he kept from his face.

"Zuko, when your chi is surrounding Katara's, do you feel like you could… snuff hers out? Or take control of it?" Iroh asked carefully.

"I…" Zuko frowned. "I didn't even consider it."

"Try," Iroh said. "Katara, if it begins to feel like you're going to lose control of yourself, tell us. Zuko, push with your chi, you said it surrounds hers. Try to squeeze hers."

Zuko's brow furrowed in concentration for a moment and Katara felt his whole body heat up, the warmth of his hand increasing tenfold. She felt his chi envelope hers more fully, curling tighter, completely enclosing hers. But it didn't feel uncomfortable. It felt good. Too good. Her breath hitched and she closed her eyes, her hands shaking when Zuko pushed harder, his chi squeezing hers tighter. It felt amazing. Hot and cold all at once, their life-forces pressed together as though they might merge into one.

The physical sensation was enough to make her head spin and Katara blushed crimson at the low, breathy moan that escaped her when he pushed even harder. She darted a glance at him and saw that Zuko's eyes were fixed on her, his brow furrowed in concentration, but a wide smile pulling at the corners of his mouth.

"Does it hurt?" he asked, pushing even harder with his chi, making her whole body tingle and ache.

Katara shook her head. No, it didn't hurt. It felt like the low coil of pleasure she'd once learned to associate with the purest form of pleasure. Like steam building up inside of something, waiting to blow. It built and it built and Katara would swear that lightning was flashing behind her eyelids when her eyes slid closed against the ecstasy of that feeling. She could feel her heart racing inside her chest, her whole body trembling as he increased the pressure even more, squeezing her hands just a bit tighter but focusing his energy entirely on squeezing her chi.

"Oh, no," Katara gasped, her eyes shooting wide when the pressure suddenly exploded. Zuko made a strange sound from beside and Katara squealed softly, turning her whole body and burying her face against Zuko's chest without releasing his hand. His free arm curled up and around her, holding her to him snugly. She could hear that his breathing was rapid and his heart raced inside his chest.

Inside herself everything snapped free with all the euphoria and delight of an orgasm without the physical effect and without a single physical touch. Everything inside her suddenly seemed to explode and the pressure of Zuko's chi surrounding hers broke, something inside her splintering and splashing, rushing all around his chi and somehow _through_ his chi as though the pressure had caused both to fracture and crack, suddenly letting fire and water collide with a hiss of steam and burning wetness that made her ache with happiness and release and something else she couldn't even name.

Iroh was staring at them with wide eyes when Zuko pulled her right into his lap, curling both arms around her protectively and cuddling her to his chest. Katara opened her eyes slowly, feeling lightheaded and more alive than she ever recall feeling in her life.

"Uncle?" Zuko asked, his voice raspy with emotion and ragged as though he'd just sprinted up a hill. "What was _that_?"

When Iroh's cheeks turned the faintest shade of pink and his whole face split into a wide, happy grin, Katara wasn't even sure she wanted to know.


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N: Hello! I think this is the longest chapter yet clocking in at 8.5k words. I'm so thrilled you've all been enjoying the story so much and so touched by all of your reviews. You'll be pleased to know they have sparked me to slam out HEAPS of new chapters (I'm currently in the middle of chapter 19, but still having to edit the others). I have an ending all mapped out and I'm enjoying the ride to get there. I hope you continue to enjoy this as much as I've been enjoying writing it. Much love!**

 **xx-Kitten.**

* * *

 **Brightest Nights or Darkest Days**

 _By Kittenshift17_

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 **CHAPTER FIFTEEN**

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"She's the one," Aang told Sokka, unable to take his eyes off the little blind girl in the middle of the ring at the Earth Rumble as he watched her throw her head back and laugh. "She's the one who's going to teach me Earth Bending."

Sokka glanced at the bald monk seated beside him, Aang's eyes fixed on the Blind Bandit like he'd just seen a shooting star fly across the heavens.

"Are you sure, Aang?" Sokka asked, completely distracted from his cheering for The Boulder to see his friend so focused after being so agitated and such a pain in the rear since they'd been separated from Katara.

"Yes. Bumi said I need to find a teacher who waits and listens before striking. That's what she did. I have to talk to her. She _has_ to teach me," Aang insisted.

Sokka smiled just a little bit to see the kid enthused about anything again. Since his time in the Spirit world when they'd been on the road – where he'd found less than anything useful about the Blizzards other than that they seemed to be the result of Tui and La punishing the world for daring to think they could strike down Tui, the Moon Spirit. The brief death of Tui before Yue had sacrificed herself to give her life back to the Moon Spirit had thrown the entire world into chaos.

They had believed that Aang's convergence with La had been the extent of the spirit's terrible anger and fury at the interruption of his eternal dance. They'd been wrong. Without the moon to balance La's power, the world's oceans had all been pitched into chaos. Tui controlled the push and the pull of the tides, and without Tui, even briefly, La was beyond control and flailing like a dying koi fish pulled from the pond. Flopping and writhing and uncontrollable the spirit's power had been released and the dance had resumed with Tui's revival but such a release of cosmic energy could not be so easily set to rights.

Combined with the fury of the other spirits who cared for Tui and who were tired of the Fire Nation's arrogance, the cosmic energies of the spirit world had stepped in to take action. Hei Bai and many others were furious and they had had enough. The blizzard would wage until the Fire Nation was laid low, or so Aang believed. The spirits, Sokka had learned, were fickle things and uncommunicative at best.

Aang believed the blizzards and the snowy weather would rage on and that was just fine with Sokka. He preferred the cold and the snow. He'd been born to it and it reminded him of home. It also felt like cosmic justice – a recognition of the sacrifice Yue had made and while it did little assuage his guilt, it certainly helped with his anger. Sokka was on board for anything that would help to slow the wheels of war and bring the Fire Nation to justice.

"If she's the one, then get out there, Aang," Sokka told the young Avatar. "Convince her to be your teacher and to run away with us. She can teach you while we keep searching for Katara."

Aang smiled widely, looking better than he'd done in weeks. Sokka smiled back, hoping that just maybe, their luck might be beginning to turn and that soon enough, they would find his sister.

 **~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~**

Princess Azula of the Fire Nation looked sideways at her two travelling companions and most trusted friends. Mai was, as usual, looking utterly bored with the proceedings of their attempts to run down the Avatar and his friends. She suspected the girl had been hoping when she agreed to come with Azula that their search for the Avatar might bring her into closer contact with Prince Zuko.

Azula rolled her eyes at the very idea, not understanding how Mai could still be hung up on Azula's brother five years after his banishment. They hadn't seen one another in more than five years and despite Azula's plans to capture Zuko and Iroh just as soon as they'd caught the Avatar, she had the feeling that Mai was going to be disappointed when she finally did reunite with Zuko.

Zuko was a traitor, after all. He was a traitor just like their Uncle and he would be punished for his crimes and for what an embarrassment he continued to be to her and to their father, Fire Lord Ozai. Mai might be entertaining secret fantasies of being with Zuko again – of having the betrothal contract between the banished prince and herself dusted off and reinstated, but it was never going to happen. Not if Azula had any say in the matter. And she would make sure she _did_ have a say in it.

Ty Lee, by comparison, was as chatty and fickle and shallow as ever but Azula didn't mind that so very much. The girl was easy to control and always willing to do her bidding, no matter her initial reluctance after being recruited by Azula from her ridiculous circus troop. Together the three of them were going to ensure the glory of the Fire Nation once and for all. If all went well, they would capture the Avatar and haul him back to the Fire Nation where he couldn't save the world like he was supposed to. If it went badly and he died – well, they'd wiped out the Air Nomads looking for him already. They could do the same to the Water Tribes. The Fire Nation had only lost at the Northern battle because Zhao was a fool and because the Avatar had gotten his glow on.

When he was just a baby once more he wouldn't be able to glow and bat their ships about like a lion-cat with a ball of yarn.

"These idiots have no idea that the reason we keep finding them is because of that beast's trail of fur," Mai grumbled, rolling her eyes when the sky bison flew off once more. The further into the Earth Kingdom they travelled, the less the blizzard seemed to have effected. The snow was thinner on the ground here, almost as though even the weather had turned on the Fire Nation. The warmth meant the bison was losing his winter coat and making it all too easy to track them, no matter the white fur on white snow issue.

"It's a wonder Zuko hasn't managed to capture these fools before now," Azula sneered. "My brother really _is_ pathetic if he can't even capture a boy too stupid to notice his shedding pet is going to be the cause of his own demise."

Azula smirked when Ty Lee laughed while Mai looked away, all mention of Zuko always making her even broodier than usual. She focused her attention of the Avatar's bison once more, only too excited to capture the little Airbending fool and haul him home. Her father had promised her that when she returned from capturing Zuko and Iroh, he was going to reward her.

She believed that if she captured the Avatar, she could use him as bait to lure Zuko home with them before handing him and Uncle over to her father in chains. Father had promised that when she returned, he would begin personally seeing to it that she would follow in his footsteps to become Fire Lord and that in good time, he would personally see to it that she had an heir to follow in her stead, too. She would make him proud and she would take the crown she'd always wanted, right out from under Zuko's nose.

 **~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~**

Katara couldn't sleep. She didn't think she'd ever be able to sleep again. She felt strange inside. Zuko and his Uncle were still sitting up, drinking tea and speaking in hushed voices across the room. She'd briefly fallen asleep in Zuko's lap earlier, after what he'd done to her with their strange chi interactions. She'd drifted off right there in his arms while his Uncle grinned at the two of them.

"What are you talking about, Uncle?" Zuko demanded in a low voice, drawing Katara's attention slowly. She'd drifted off in his hold and eventually he'd put her to bed, she supposed, since she was now tucked between the covers, blinking awake, feeling disoriented and cold.

She realised with an odd twist that she felt cold because she missed the heat of his body pressed close to hers in the bed and she missed the feel of his chi against hers. Sitting up slowly, Katara squinted against the light of the fire, peering at Zuko and Iroh where they sat at the table. Iroh was in the process of fixing another pot of tea.

"Ah, Katara," Iroh smiled, looking over when she moved and spotting that she was awake. "I wondered how long you might sleep. How are you feeling?"

"Cold," Katara admitted.

"I thought you might be," he nodded, beckoning her closer. Katara slipped out of bed and walked over to the pair of Firebenders, accepting the cup of tea that Iroh handed to her. There were only two chairs in the room, so she turned, planning to walk back to sit on the end of the bed, but before she could get two steps, Zuko reached for her.

She squeaked in surprise when he pulled her down until she was sitting in his lap, looping one arm around her waist carefully. Iroh watched them with a funny expression on his face, but he didn't comment and Katara sighed, sipping the tea and smiling at the delightful flavour before slowly relaxing back against Zuko's warm body.

"Uncle, explain," Zuko said in that authority-laden tone of his that belied a life spent ordering people about and expecting them to do his bidding – even his own Uncle.

He gave no indication that he'd pulled Katara into his lap or that she might be in his way or uncomfortable.

"I don't know what you want me to tell you, Prince Zuko. The reason neither of you have experienced the linking of your chi energy like that with anyone else is a very little known one because it is very rare. There hasn't been an incident like it in many, many years."

"But it _has_ happened before?" Katara confirmed. "I don't know any legends or stories about it from the Water Tribe. Is it something unique to Firebenders?"

Iroh shook his head, smiling slowly.

"It's a rare occurrence and hasn't happened since before the Hundred Year War began," Iroh said. "Reiki Kizuna was a phenomenon seen in the days when the Air Nomads still walked the Nations. When they were wiped out and the Avatar went missing, it was assumed that the power laid with them – that it was a spirit gift leftover from their work to let go of earthly tethers. Some said that their desire to achieve spiritual enlightenment left an excess of love-energy in the world, meaning that certain people from different Nations – always Benders, always from two different Bending disciplines – encountered that energy and that it created Reiki Kizuna."

"Spirit Bonding?" Katara frowned. "Wait… there _are_ legends of that in my Tribe, though I don't recall them very well. Gran Gran used to tell us stories when I was a little girl that in the days before the Air Nomads were wiped out it was common that those who visited with or befriended the Air Nomads tended to be lucky in love and that they would often forge strong relationships and friendships with the other Nations. She said that before the war there was a time when everyone from every Nation travelled freely between the Nations. The Air Nomads, of course, did so most often."

"Yes," Iroh smiled. "Before Sozin attacked the Air Nomads, back when Avatar Roku was still alive, the four Nations used to have a yearly gathering. Every year it was held in a different Nation for the sake of fairness, but many travelled to attend. The purpose of it was to seek Reiki Kizuna. It is the bond of chi, a link that allows certain Benders to combine their chi in such a manner that together, with practice and training, they could essentially bend their own element _through_ their bond partner."

"And you think that Zuko and I have a Reiki Kizuna?" Katara asked, frowning slightly.

"You do," Iroh nodded. "Had Zuko channelled his will to Firebend through you earlier during your convergence, he'd have been able to bend the fire through your hands. Should you attempt it, with enough practice and training, you would be able to Waterbend through Zuko, too."

"But fire and water are opposing elements," Zuko protested.

"Aang always said that he dreaded learning Earthbending the most because it would be his natural opposite, thereby making it the hardest to master."

"Ah, yes," Iroh nodded. "That is true for the Avatar because he must master the elements and control all four. This type of convergence does not allow you, Katara, to Firebend. Were you and Zuko to achieve the Kizuna for the sake of Bending, you would not control the fire, Zuko would. You would merely be the channel. In times past it was said that through such bonds the Bending was more powerful. You could, in essence, bend _through_ Zuko, and he, through you. Doing so combines his bending strength with yours, making it that much more powerful."

"You said something about it being caused by an excess of love-energy in the universe?" Zuko protested. "I don't love her, Uncle, and I know she doesn't love me."

"It was believed to be the cause, yes," Iroh said. "But I didn't say it _resulted_ in love. Reiki Kizuna is a bonding of spirits. If one is lucky enough to find the person with whom they can bond, many do go on to love one another, either through friendship or romantic love merely as a result of close and frequent interaction. As you have seen, physical contact is necessary for your chi to touch, and as you have described, having you chis connecting makes each of your feel more comfortable with the bond partner than you might be with anyone else."

"But it's not some crazy soul-mate type idea, right?" Katara frowned.

"Yes and no," Iroh smiled gently over the rim of his teacup. "It does not force you to find one another, nor to be together now that you have done so. The link is believed to be spirit energy that latches onto and links certain individuals. Imagine the powers creating it as little clouds of lint if you like, drifting about and landing on the invisible links between every two people in the world."

"But we're not linked," Zuko said. "Until this blizzard we were enemies."

"Enmity is still a link, my nephew. Just as the earth is connected to the sky, and the Four Nations are connected to one another, no matter the things that divide them, everyone and everything in the world in connected by bonds and ties that we cannot see. The energy creating Reiki Kizuna lands where it will and it seems that it has landed between you and Katara."

"Because of Aang?" Katara asked, frowning.

Iroh looked thoughtful.

"That's a difficult question to answer, Katara," Iroh said. "It was believed that the Air Nomads were the cause of the excess energy, but there was nothing proving it to be so. However, you and Zuko have both been in contact with an Air Bender, so it's certainly possibly that Aang is to blame. It could also be that as they travelled more frequently and knew more people from around the world, Airbenders were seen as the connection linking two people together by introducing them. Maybe the link already exists. Maybe it is as some of the Earth Kingdom people believe that we are each born as a single entity that is ripped in two, two halves of one whole, and that it is our destiny to spend our lives searching for the other half of ourselves. Perhaps Reiki Kizuna is what happens when the two halves converge."

Katara frowned thoughtfully.

"It doesn't matter where it comes from," Zuko muttered. "What matters is what we're supposed to do about it."

" _Do_ about it?" Iroh raised his eyebrows before chuckling. "What do you imagine you would _like_ to do about it, nephew?"

"What _can_ we do about it?" Zuko countered.

"Nothing," Iroh chuckled. "The bond exists, whether your like it or not. You do not _have_ to utilize it, if you choose not to. No one will force you."

"The bond doesn't… force us to interact? Or to… feel things for each other?" Zuko asked, and Katara could hear the tightness of his tone, as though he feared their recent burgeoning friendship was born of the Reiki Kizuna.

"As you have already said, the feel of your chi and Katara's touching is a good one, yes?" Zuko's uncle asked, raising one eyebrow. "To say that any other feeling either of you might experience for the other is a result of the bond would be reckless and potentially incorrect. I don't believe the bond would make you fall in love with one another, but I don't claim to know everything about them. I believe it would be safe to say that it makes you comfortable with one another and that anything else you feel for each other is of a more physical nature rather than the effect of a spiritual link."

Katara nodded slowly, thinking carefully about the interactions she'd had with Zuko so far. The fact was that until the blizzard, she had strongly disliked him. Hated him, even. He had been terrible to her and her friends. He was a horrible person who spread violence and death and war wherever he went.

But that had been the surface. That had been when she knew nothing but his name and his goal. Now she knew much more about him than that. She knew he had a sense of humour, no matter how angry and angst-ridden he happened to be. She knew he had lost his mother thanks to his father's thirst for power and that he'd been mistreated and unloved by his father all his life. She knew he had suffered and that despite his skill with weapons and at Firebending, he had to work for it. He practiced hard and he pushed himself to stay in shape and to ensure that he didn't lose a step when it came to ability.

She knew that he could change. He hadn't outright said he would turn his back on his Nation and his family for the sake of saving the world, but he'd certainly seemed to entertain the idea. Given that she'd thought him nothing but a mindless killer a week ago, Katara would say she was proud of the type of progress he had achieved in such a short time and that she might one day like or even love the person he could grow to be.

"It doesn't… force us to be together or to be… attracted to one another?" Zuko confirmed.

"I am no expert, Zuko," Iroh shrugged his shoulders. "But I don't think so."

They were all silent for a little while after that, drinking their tea in quiet contemplation and Katara tried not to notice the way Zuko was so warm and the way she felt so safe perched upon his lap.

"I suppose then, that it is time to ask the more important questions," Iroh said. "You said you have both been travelling toward Ba Sing Se; do you still plan to do so?"

"I do," Katara nodded. "Sokka, Aang, and I agreed to meet there if we were ever separated and couldn't readily find one another."

"And you, nephew?" Iroh asked. "Is it still your plan to capture the Avatar? Are you taking Katara prisoner to use as bait to lure Aang to you for the sake of returning to the Fire Nation and regaining your honour?"

Katara held her breath, turning slowly in Zuko's hold to stare at the Firebender. He was frowning deeply, his eyes darting between his uncle and Katara. He looked conflicted and Katara wondered what he would say.

"I…" Zuko began before he stopped, his frown deepening even more. Katara stood from his lap, glaring at him dangerously and ready to bend at him should the need arise. She didn't think he was going to turn on her, but she wouldn't exactly say he was trustworthy, either.

"Well?" Katara demanded when he didn't speak for the longest time and she couldn't hold her breath any longer. Zuko's golden-hued gaze lifted to stare steadily at her and his face lost all expression. For one terrible moment, she feared he was about to attack her. She feared he might turn on her after all, Reiki Kizuna or not, and she narrowed her eyes, ready to drive an icy spear through his chest should he present a true threat.

"Uncle," Zuko said quietly, his eyes drifting from Katara over to his Uncle. "I don't think my honour was ever lost."

Katara reeled in shock and Iroh grunted in surprise, sitting back in his chair as though it was news to him.

"I… for the longest time I thought that my honour was something that Ozai could strip from me as he stripped my crown and my birthright. As he stripped you of _your_ birthright, Uncle," Zuko explained. "Even when you and I parted ways, I believed that. I believed that he had taken it from me – that I had lost it in my refusal to fight a grown man who was supposed to protect me and love me – just for speaking out of turn. But… I see now that my honour was not something he ever _could_ take from me.

"He charged me with capturing the Avatar if I ever want to return home to reclaim my throne, but if I do that I guarantee that the toxic, hateful reign of our people will be forever cemented. If I capture Aang and hand him over to my father, the world will eventually fall to Fire Nation rule, and right now it is _not_ a Fire Nation I am proud to call mine. I… I am disgusted with our people. They are cruel and cold, and they spread hate for the sake of power and greed, not for the sake of sharing our greatness with the world, as I'd always believed. We are _not_ a great Nation. We're a nation of bloodthirsty, power-hungry murderers."

He was breathing heavily when he stopped talking, his brow furrowed and his fists clenched.

"Zuko… what are you saying?" Iroh asked, darting a glance at Katara, whose hand had subconsciously moved to clutch at her heart inside her chest where it rapidly kicked out an uneven, nervous beat.

"Make no mistake, Uncle," Zuko said quietly, his voice steely and his gaze resolved when he looked up. "I _will_ have my throne and I _will_ be Fire Lord someday soon. But I will _not_ be following in Ozai's footsteps. I don't want to capture the Avatar. I want to help him learn Firebending and I want to help him take my father down. I want to be _good_ , Uncle. I'm so tired of being bad. I'm so tired of messing up. I'm so tired of being hated by the whole world just because I was born in the Fire Nation or because I can Firebend. I want the other Nations to prosper in their own way, without fear of being invaded and overrun by Fire Nation soldiers. I don't want to ever meet another Earth Kingdom family who are struggling to survive because their fathers, husbands, brothers, or sons are off fighting and dying in a never-ending war that they're slowly losing.

"I want to stop the fighting, Uncle. Or at least I want to turn it on the people who deserve it, like my Father and Azula. I want people to live in peace without fear that some Firebending jerk is going to come along and take it all away. I want my throne so that I can make sure that those who _do_ continue to push for war will be at my mercy, and I want to show them the mercilessness that _they_ have shown the rest of the world."

Zuko was on his feet, pacing, his brow furrowed and his fists clenched and Katara would swear she could see the flames of his passion dancing in his eyes as surely as they danced across his fingertips in his conviction and his anger.

She flinched when Iroh got to his feet, too. The older man strode quickly across the small space separating himself from Zuko and Zuko made a sound of surprise when his uncle tugged on the front of Zuko's shirt, hauling him into an embrace that was meant to hide the tears that ran down the old man's face.

Katara felt very much like she was witnessing what should've been a very private moment between the two and she wondered how long Iroh had been waiting and hoping and hinting to Zuko that he needed to change; that he needed to be better than his father; that he'd been born to be a better man.

"My nephew," Iroh said, his voice thick with restrained emotion as he squeezed Zuko tightly. "I have waited a long time to hear you say such things."

Katara felt tears trickle down her face, wondering how much of Zuko's decision to change had to do with her and what this might mean for the two of them – for the whole world, in fact.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Zuko asked, frowning and glancing at Katara before hiding his face when a tear trickled from his eye too.

Iroh sniffled and actually laughed softly.

"It was a decision you had to make for yourself. My task has always been to guide you and to help you; to try and help you see the man you could be if you make the right choice," Iroh told him.

Katara dropped down to sit on the edge of the bed, shocked by his change of heart and hopeful for a future where the Fire Lord might be vanquished and someone decent might be installed in his places as his successor. She was shaking her head, a slow smile spreading across her face as a sudden imagining of the future spread out before her.

They might really be able to do it. She'd believed since she'd met Aang and realised he was the Avatar that he could save the world, but having Zuko working with them, rather than against them would make their journey to get there and to succeed a lot smoother. She could almost feel her heart singing inside her chest and more than ever she wanted to find Sokka and Aang just so that they could celebrate this victory and so that they could get right to work. Aang still had a long way to go with his Waterbending, let alone getting started on Firebending and to her knowledge still needed to find an Earthbending teacher.

They needed to get moving. The sooner they could overthrow Ozai, imprison Azula, and install Zuko as the new Fire Lord, the sooner the war would be over. She didn't delude herself that it would be a smooth road to peace or that the defeat of Ozai would be the end, rather than the beginning of a new battle to change the way the world looked at the Fire Nation and to heal the wounds this divide of Nations and this war and ripped into the fabric of their existence, but it would be a step in the right direction.

"This will not be easy, Zuko," Iroh told his nephew when he pulled back, wiping at his eyes to fix a proud smile upon his face. "There are many things that we must consider, including the fact that in order to be crowned Fire Lord when Ozai is defeated, you must first have your banishment revoked and have Ozai crown you as Prince of the Fire Nation once more."

Zuko's brow furrowed.

"How am I supposed to do that if we're trying to take him down? I know I'm not strong enough to defeat him, Uncle. Not on my own," Zuko said.

Katara realised there was a lot more to the old General than met the eyes when he smiled a cunning smile, and she wondered how long he'd spent thinking about how to take down his brother and install his nephew as Fire Lord.

"The first thing we must do is reunite Katara with Aang and Sokka," he said. "Which means we must blend into the cities as refugees. We'll need passports. There is no way into the Ba Sing Se on foot or by sea that we could take without being caught. We must leave this village as soon as possible when dawn breaks and the weather allows."

"How do I get crowned once more, Uncle?" Zuko asked. "I want to help Aang but I don't see myself being able to return home as anything but a prisoner without capturing or killing him. How am I to help him learn Firebending and take down my father if I have to return to Ozai's side to be re-crowned?"

Iroh's smiled turned truly wicked.

"It will take some careful planning and no small amount of luck and artistry, my nephew. But we will manage it. To have you crowned as Fire Lord when Ozai falls, you must be recognised as Prince once more. You must be seen helping Azula and you must be seen killing the Avatar," Iroh told him. "The whole world must see and must know."

"You want me to _kill_ him?" Zuko asked, frowning, glancing at Katara, who was on her feet once more and thinking about killing Iroh for the very suggestion.

"Oh, no," Iroh shook his head. "We just want the world to _think_ that you have. Careful planning, Zuko. We must make it seem to all the world that you are the dutiful son of the Fire Lord when you return. Aang and his friends will have to help with that. The invasion and the takeover must be swift and done from the inside as well as the outside. _You_ will be the one on the inside, but you must _not_ be the one to take your Father's life, Zuko. That is very important. That is the Avatar's task, not yours. If you do it, it will merely look like one more act of violence and a grab for power from a blood thirty Firebender. Aang must take his life. You must simply stage the coup and work from the inside to take down Azula and the government."

"But I have to teach Aang Firebending," Zuko said.

"And you will. In Ba Sing Se. You know Azula is still hunting us and hunting Aang to usurp your ability to ever return. You know that if she can, she will prevent you from achieving the task your father set as a condition for your return. With you banished _she_ is in line for the throne. But you are the firstborn son and it is your divine right to rule the Fire Nation, not hers. Besides, she's crazy and she needs to go down. She will eventually make her way to Ba Sing Se. Aang draws attention no matter where he goes. As long as he is not captured before then and we all reach the city in good time, there will be time to teach him what he needs to know before you can be seen 'turning on him' with Azula as witness. The strike will have to be precise, but Aang will have to fake his death. The city may fall in the attempt, but it will be a short-lived occupation, I think. While the Fire Nation forces invade the city, you will return to the palace, you will gain your father's trust and be re-crowned. And you will dismantle the government from the inside.

"Ozai means to use the strength of Sozin's comet to purge the world, Zuko. He will stop at nothing and Aang must be ready by then. You must be ready by then. The war must end before or on the day of the comet or we are all doomed. You _will_ be ready by then and you will be crowned when your father falls."

Zuko and Katara both stared at the old man, who seemed to have thought out every move of the war up to the comet and Ozai's demise. She understood then why it was said that he'd been such a fine General and she realised that without Lu Ten's death he'd have been a more successful and more effective Fire Lord than any who'd come before him.

Zuko seemed to realise the same thing because he blinked slowly before a little smirk pulled at one corner of his mouth.

"How long have you been plotting this, Uncle?" Zuko asked curiously.

Iroh had the decency to look bashful for a moment. "Since your grandfather signed over the title of Fire Lord to Ozai when it was mine by birthright," the man shrugged. "Since your mother disappeared. Since Aang came out of that iceberg and we began chasing him across the world. I have had a good long time to figure out how to dismantle the Fire Nation and take down my brother, Nephew. I have had plans in mind should you ever stop focusing on his lies and learn to use your head and realise what it is you must do if you want to rule your Nation as a Fire Lord is supposed to rule his people, not as a terrible dictator bent on world domination. Believe me, Zuko, I have spent years planning every last move, plotting for every possible outcome. We will not fail as long as our faith in what is right remains strong and as long as we do not lose hope or lose our nerve."

Zuko stared. He was frowning.

"Do _you_ want to be Fire Lord, Uncle?" he asked in a soft voice. "It _was_ supposed to be your birthright. You would make a better Fire Lord than me or anyone else in the Fire Nation."

"No, Zuko," Iroh shook his head. "I let go of my anger over my brother's coup a long time ago when I realised that the cost of Azulon's resolve to allow me that right rather than allowing it for Ozai was a greater price that I was willing to pay."

Zuko frowned. Katara frowned too, confused by the way he worded the sentence, as though he had secrets and as though there had been more than the death of a Fire Lord and blackmail involved to ensure that Ozai succeeded Azulon as Fire Lord, rather than Iroh, as was proper.

"What was the cost, Uncle?" Zuko asked, his head suddenly snapping up and his gaze fixed upon Iroh with suspicion and something that looked a lot like resignation.

"I think you already know the answer to that, Zuko."

Zuko gritted his teeth, looking over toward Katara for a moment and she raised her eyebrows, not understanding.

"When Lu Ten was killed in battle and we received word at the Palace, my Father asked to speak with Fire Lord Azulon," Zuko said quietly, apparently telling the tale for Katara's benefit. "He prefaced it with a display from Azula, showing off her natural talent for Firebending and the fact that while I was still useless at it, she was skilled. Gifted. A true prodigy."

He sounded bitter as he said so. "When my Grandfather grew tired of the peacocking, he demanded to know what Father wanted. Father pointed out that with Lu Ten gone, Iroh had no heir to one day succeed him and no wife to sire more heirs. He claimed that if Iroh took the throne, the royal bloodline would end with him and petitioned that instead of Iroh, _he_ be appointed heir to the throne. My mother took Azula and I away when Azulon grew angry, claiming that it was the height of dishonour to ask him to strip a grieving father's title from him when the news was so fresh. I left before I heard anymore, but Azula stayed. She told me once that my Father was going to kill me. That Azulon had threatened that if Ozai wanted to rule so badly, he would have to murder me for the right, so that he might know the pain of losing his first-born son for the sake of the title; that he would suffer as Iroh suffered and see if he still felt the same about the title."

Katara covered her mouth with her hand, shaking her head slowly in silent protest.

"Ursa – Zuko's mother - caught wind of the plot and knew that Ozai would do it. She favoured Zuko over Azula – the wretched girl was always crazy, if you ask me – because Ozai has always favoured Azula," Iroh chimed in. "Ursa knew that Ozai would murder Zuko for the right to be Fire Lord. He'd tried once before. When Zuko was born and didn't show any of the early signs of being a Bender, Ozai planned to pitch Zuko from the palace walls – killing him in favour of the 'shame' it would be to raise an heir who couldn't even Firebend. Ursa and the Fire Sages convinced him to reconsider and Zuko eventually showed the signs of bending. But he'd been willing to kill his only child – Azula wasn't yet born – for the sake of his pride. For the crown, it would be no small thing to him, and he never liked Zuko. He still doesn't. Ursa pleaded with Ozai to wait and said she knew another way."

"My Mother killed Grandfather?" Zuko asked, sounding shocked.

Iroh nodded. "She did it to save you, Zuko. She poisoned Azulon and she forced him to sign over the crown to Ozai. Afterward, Ozai turned on her, claiming that she couldn't be trusted and had her banished from the Palace or killed – we were never certain, back then."

"Uncle, what are you saying?" Zuko asked picking up on something in his Uncle's tone that Katara had missed. "Is my mother alive?"

Iroh looked over at the boy.

"While you are I were separated, I learned a few things about Ursa," Iroh nodded his head sadly. "She's alive, Zuko. I spoke to an old friend who was once one of your mother's closest handmaids when I ran into her in a village. She told me that when Ursa disappeared, all of her servants were banished too. Ursa is alive, or was when Ling last parted ways with her. Before your mother was forced to marry Ozai, she was engaged to another man. Ling believed that Ursa planned to return to his side, if she could find him. He'd taken a new name and a new face from the Mother of Faces when Ozai tried to have him hunted down for being engaged to your mother."

"Where?" Zuko asked, his voice hoarse his face pale with worry and shock.

"I don't know, son," Iroh said, moving over and putting his hand on Zuko's shoulder, steadying the shaking young man. Katara felt compelled to do the same, shuffling closer and gently taking Zuko's hand, knowing that like her, he was extremely damaged over his mother's loss. "All I know is that Ursa changed her name to Noriko. I understand the urge to seek her out, Zuko, but it is something that must wait until your task is complete. Currently having you find her would only bring trouble down upon her."

"She was… forced to marry Ozai?" Zuko asked, frowning.

Iroh sighed. "Your mother was the granddaughter of Avatar Roku, Zuko. In a bid to ensure that your father would sire powerful Firebending children, he insisted that he be allowed to marry Ursa, no matter her betrothal to another man or her unwillingness to marry him."

Zuko looked devastated at the idea, frowning deeply and drawing in a slow, pained breath. She realised when his hand tightened around herself that he was furious over the idea.

"He _forced_ her?" Zuko confirmed.

Iroh nodded sadly before pulling Katara away when Zuko suddenly dropped her hand and stormed toward the fireplace. The powerful display of Firebending he emitted in his fury scared her, but she understood his anger. One of the things about the Northern Water Tribe that had bothered her the most was the gender roles and the fact that the Chief of the tribe or the father of any Water Tribe girl could choose who that girl married, whether she personally cared for him or not.

She recalled too, the way Zuko had been so strongly offended by the idea when she'd suggested worry that he might ever force himself on her as she'd feared that first night together when he'd tugged her into his sleeping bag for warmth. He was morally opposed to forcing women into marriages they didn't want and obviously didn't hold with rape.

"I'll kill him," Zuko swore. "Avatar's right to restore balance be _damned_ , Uncle! I will kill my Father if it's the last thing I do!"

Iroh released Katara carefully, glancing down at her as though wondering what her reaction might be to all of this.

"If your try, it _will_ be the last thing you do, Nephew," Iroh said sternly. "Believe me, I know the fury and the rage of the notion that he dragged Ursa into a marriage she didn't want and I know how truly corrupt my brother is. I have known for a long time and I have done nothing because it will achieve nothing. He is younger. He is surrounded by guards. He is stronger too, if I am honest. He would defeat me if I tried to fight him, and he would defeat you too, Zuko."

"He forced her, Uncle!" Zuko shouted, spinning towards the man with fury painted across his face. "He might as well have held her down and raped her while she screamed! Even worse than that, he made sure she had to live with him and sleep in his bed every night. He repeatedly forced himself on her, all for his lust for power. He turned her into a murderer and took away her happiness and then he threw her out like some piece of soiled and torn laundry!"

He turned back toward the fireplace just in time before breathing fire right out of his mouth in his rage.

Iroh took a step forward, wanting to offer comfort but Katara put a hand on his shoulder stopping him. He looked down at her, his expression tortured as though seeing his nephew so angry and hurt was unbearable. Katara gave him a brave smile before carefully crossing the room to where Zuko stood leaning against the mantle, his knuckles white and the wood groaning under his tight grip.

He breathed fire again like a dragon, barely managing to restrain his temper and his outpouring of rage to the fireplace. Katara suspected that he'd very much like to destroy the room and everything in it. That he'd like to rid this village of all the soldiers and lay waste to everything between here and the Fire Nation Palace before engaging in a showdown against his father. She believed him angry enough to succeed, too.

But it would do no good and she needed a way to calm him down. If there was one thing she was good at besides Bending, it was at calming down those fuelled by pain and rage when they lost control. She had done so many times with Aang, trusting him never to hurt her, even when he was in the Avatar state and ready to lay siege to the whole world.

Zuko's rage poured off him in waves but Katara took a deep breath before stepping up right behind him and looping her arms around his waist. He was rigid and tense against her when she pressed her body against his back, moulding her shape to his and pushing with her chi, this time refusing to let his chi envelope hers. This wasn't the time to let her feel safe and protected. This time it was Zuko who needed comfort and she would provide it.

He remained rigid in her hold even after he stopped breathing fire and she was shocked that he didn't recoil from her touch or order her away. She'd been expecting both. Without them he fell silent, his hands never leaving the mantle and his chi threatening to consume hers whole when he pushed back. Katara pushed harder, trying what Iroh had told him to do earlier, attempting to ensconce his chi with her own and squeeze it tight, as tightly as she was hugging him.

For the longest time the three of them stood there in silence, only Zuko's laboured but controlled breathing filling the room. He remained tense, never once relaxing in her hold, but he stopped breathing fire and fought to regain control of himself.

"Killing him won't be enough," he said finally, his voice as cold as ice.

"No," Iroh agreed. "It won't."

Zuko slowly loosened his grip upon the mantle after several long minutes, one hand lowering to gently take hold of Katara's where she clung to him. He traced his fingers over the back of her hand in a pattern – the symbol for calmness – and Katara slowly breathed out, letting her chi unwind from the way it completely enveloped his, feeling their combined chi curl together intimately as his heat brushed against her coolness, twisting and turning until her chi was enveloped within his once more.

"Before he can be killed, we will take away everything that he cares about, my nephew," Iroh said, moving over and placing a hand on Zuko's shoulder, resting the other one lightly upon Katara's shoulder and giving it a little squeeze of gratitude. "It has been my plan all along."

"He doesn't care about anything, Uncle," Zuko protested without looking at the man, his fingers sliding between Katara's once more, interlocking them as though he needed to draw strength from her touch. "He only wants power and the right to rule the world."

"And we will take both. He cares about Azula. He cares about the line of succession. He cares about his image in the eyes of the Fire Nation and about winning this war. We will take it all, Zuko. Before the end he will be paranoid and bereft. When he faces Aang, he will be ready to crumble and when he has nothing left – not even his pride – then the Avatar will take his life."

Zuko nodded his head slowly before finally, slowly turning away from the fire. He pried Katara from his back, never releasing his hold on her hand even as he guided her around to stand beside him. When he met his Uncle's gaze his fury was still obvious, but this time it wasn't hot and fiery and explosive. This time it was cold; calculating; the slow simmering burn of true hatred in favour of easily spent rage.

Katara could tell the difference because she recognised it as something she'd experienced herself. This wasn't the quick and devastating anger of a tantrum or a fight. This was the determination to ruin the cause of his anguish until there was nothing left. This was the cruel, driven version of Zuko she had seen when they'd first met so long ago in her village where he'd come searching for Aang, determined to capture him and take him away forever.

This was the drive that had pushed Zuko to follow them across the world and back, no matter how many times he almost caught them only to be foiled at the last moment or to have them slip through his fingers again. She recognised in that moment that this wasn't a boy who was used to getting everything he wanted just because he'd been raised to think himself entitled. This was a man who'd worked hard for everything he had – not in the material sense, perhaps, but it was clear to her now that Zuko was more powerful than she knew not by some accident of birth, but by force of will.

He wasn't some Firebending prodigy, no matter his impressive bloodline or his skill with the Fire. He wasn't some gifted weapons-master because of his breeding or his training as a Prince. This was someone who had worked hard at it every day to get better. This was someone who had failed many times over and had used the anger and frustration of each failure to drive himself to do better; to be better; to improve until there was nothing left to learn.

Zuko held Iroh's gaze, his hand wrapped carefully around Katara's as he said, "What do you want me to do, Uncle?"

Iroh smiled another of those cunning smiles before he began to describe the most detailed and well-thought out plan of complete and utter destruction for one man that Katara had ever heard in her life.


	16. Chapter 16

**A/N: I'm so pleased that so many of you liked the last chapter. I was very nervous about posting it, wondering how you might all react to the explanation and the Reiki Kizuna. I can't wait to see your reactions to this chapter. Mwahahaha!**

 **xx-Kitten.**

* * *

 **Brightest Nights or Darkest Days**

 _By Kittenshift17_

* * *

 **CHAPTER SIXTEEN**

* * *

It was almost dawn before they'd all gone to bed. Katara lay stretched out on her side, facing toward Zuko where he lay next to her. He was on his back, his scarred eye the one closest to her as he stared at the ceiling, still simmering in his anger and mulling over the plan his Uncle had laid out for how they must proceed.

The door connecting their room to Iroh's was closed, Katara having offered to fill the bathtub in his room for the General's use and him having gratefully accepted, saying that a hot bath would do him a world of good. He'd also pointed out that he snored, and so had closed the door to his room to allow them to sleep without him disturbing them.

Laying there in the dark beside Zuko, some of the earlier sexual tension between them had dissipated, though whether it was a result of what they'd done pushing with their chi against one another or if it was because Zuko was distracted, Katara didn't know. His jaw ticked occasionally, the muscle there jumping as he gritted his teeth on what she expected might be more rage filled words he'd love to scream at his father.

She didn't know what to say or how to comfort him. It was one thing to offer comfort over a mutual loss, but she'd never known anyone who lived with the pain of knowing their mother was only their mother because their father forced himself on her. She didn't know how to comfort him over the fact that his father seemed to be evil incarnate or over the fact that his sister was following in their father's footsteps. She didn't know what to say to offer comfort that he'd eventually find his mother again when it was all over and seeking her out would be safe.

"You're staring, Water Bender," Zuko said softly without looking at her, apparently feeling her gaze on him even if he wasn't paying attention to her.

"Sorry," Katara whispered. "I don't really know how to help, but if there's anything I can do, please tell me?"

His lips twitched little and he turned his head to stare at her across the pillows, the light from the hearth fire illuminating his eyes in the most alluring way. Katara held his gaze and she found that he didn't have to speak for her to know there really wasn't anything she could do, just as there wasn't anything he could do beyond what they'd begun plotting with his Uncle. Supposing that he might appreciate a distraction, as she often did when things troubled her, Katara smiled just a little bit and shuffled a bit closer.

Under the covers she slid her hand across the sheets until she found his hand. She curled her pinky-finger around his, sighing softly when their chi immediately brushed once more.

"We should start a new game," Katara told him quietly.

Zuko raised his good eyebrow in silent question.

"All this time we've all be playing the games of what we'd do if there wasn't a war, or what things might be like if the war had never started," Katara elaborated. "It's time for a new game. We're going to play what we _will_ do when the war is over. Not in some hypothetical or fanciful notion kind of way, but solid, actual plans for what we'll do when this war is finally over."

Zuko's lips twitched again and Katara could tell that he knew she was trying to take his mind off his troubles, but she suspected he was also just a little bit amused by how resolute she was that they would win and that the war would be over soon.

"You go first," he told her. "What do you want to do when the war is done with?"

Katara smiled widely.

"I want to rebuild the Southern Water Tribe," she told him, the very first thing that popped into her head a memory of what life had been like when she'd been a little girl with her Mum and Dad and Gran Gran and Sokka, living as a family. "I want to use my Waterbening to help them rebuild the civilisation down there and I want the sense of community and happiness to return for them."

Zuko shook his head. "Those aren't the types of things I had in mind for the game, Water Bender," he said. "Those are things that will be done and must be done. Those are the tasks we'll all have to tackle when the battle is done and we all have to put out own Nations back in order. Tell me something you want to do when you don't have to hide from the soldiers or worry about fixing the world. What's something personal that you'd like to do?"

Katara thought about it, shuffling a little bit closer to him across the sheets, seeking the warmth of his body pressed to hers.

"Something silly and personal that achieves no good other than to make me happy?" she confirmed.

Zuko nodded, watching her. Suddenly she smiled.

"I want to go penguin sledding again," she confessed. "And I want you to come with me."

"Penguin sledding?" he asked, snorting in amusement. "Is it what it sounds like?"

Katara nodded. "You take some fish into the colonies of penguins and you catch or befriend one. And then you jump on its back as it slides on its stomach all the way down from the colonies to the flats at the edge of the ocean. I hadn't done it since I was a girl until Aang popped out of the ice and I haven't been home again to try it since we left. It's really fun."

Zuko looked amused. "You want me to come with you?"

She nodded.

"Promise you will," she demanded, gripping his pinky-finger tighter with hers and shuffling closer again, lifting their joined hands until she could tuck herself into his side despite the warmth of the fire and the blankets, and despite the size of the bed.

"Why would you want me to come penguin sledding?" Zuko asked. "I'll be Fire Lord by then. You really want to invite me down to the South Pole and your homeland – after what I did to it the last time I was there – just to ride on the back of a penguin with you."

"Promise me, Zuko," Katara said, burrowing closer to him until she could prop her chin against the middle of his bare chest, rolling closer until she actually rolled right on top of him, spreading her body over the top of his like she were a blanket.

He looked amused by the way she helped herself to his person, but it was the best spot to lie where she could still talk to him and hold his gaze whilst pressing as much of herself to him as possible, soaking up his warmth and giving plenty back, still feeling cold and strange since their internal chi push earlier.

"Promise," she repeated when he didn't answer. "Promise that even though you'll be Fire Lord and busy with all those tasks we're all going to be worried about to fix our own Nations and repair the international relations between all four, you'll still come penguin sledding with me. I want to see your face when you're clinging on for dear life, flying at high speed down an icy slope on the back of a penguin. It's fun, I promise."

"We won't have much time for fun, Water Bender," he reminded her. "We'll be busy with all those other tasks."

"Promise!" Katara insisted, thumping her fist against his chest lightly.

Zuko shook his head at her insistence, but he smiled.

"I promise that when we've got the time, if we both survive, I will come penguin sledding with you, Water Bender," Zuko pledged quietly and Katara beamed at him.

"Good," she said. "Now it's your turn. What's something you're going to do just for the sake of being happy when this is all over?"

Zuko frowned a little.

"I don't know," he said after a long, contemplative silence. "I can't actually remember ever doing anything that made me happy."

Katara nearly cried at the very idea.

"What did you do for fun when you were on your ship?" she asked him, frowning.

Zuko shrugged. "I didn't really have fun on the ship. Uncle dragged me to most of his morale building nights with the crew, but I didn't like participating because he liked to try and make me dance or play the Tsungi horn. And I'm rubbish at both."

"Nonsense," Katara declared.

"You've never heard me play, how would you know?" he laughed at her apparent certainty.

"I don't know about your horn-playing skills," she smiled. "But I doubt very strongly that you're rubbish at dancing, Zuko. I've watched you Firebending and fighting with your swords or even just your bare hands. I've seen the way you move. Dancing isn't so different."

Zuko looked doubtful but he didn't argue.

"I was expected to take lessons as a boy," he confessed, frowning a little. "And I wasn't very good."

Katara rolled her eyes, knowing after seeing him bend that should the need ever arise, he'd dance just fine.

"What else did you do on your ship, between searching for Aang and attending your Uncle's parties?" she asked him.

"Played Pi Shoh with Uncle," Zuko shrugged. "But I'm not very good at that either. The rest of the time we just sailed around searching for the Avatar and interrogating people. Whenever we made port the men would all head to the local whore-house or ale-house in each town and Uncle occasionally dragged me along, when I was old enough."

Katara snorted. "What an honour for those innocent concubines and tavern girls," she smirked. "Did any of them know they were bedding the Fire Nation prince?"

Zuko smirked in return. "A few of them. Most didn't, though. They just wanted to get through with their job to get away from the angry jerk with the ugly scar on his face."

"You know, when you talk about your life it makes more and more sense to me that you're such a grouch, Zuko," she told him. "You need to lighten up and learn how to have fun. Didn't you ever have fun with friends at the Palace? What about Kuzon?"

"Kuzon was the son of one of my mother's servants. We weren't supposed to play together. And I was only seven when he was banished. The only person I've ever had who could be called a real friend was my Uncle."

"And me," Katara smiled at him.

"You've been here a week," he rolled his eyes. "And before this, you and I were trying to kill each other, remember? I'm not sure that qualifies you as a friend."

She'd have been offended if she didn't think he was being literal and logical, rather than hurtful.

"I _am_ your friend, you know?" she said. "I'm an integral part of the plan to dethrone your father and restore you to your crown when we save the world, remember?"

"That makes you my ally, not my friend," Zuko pointed out.

"I throw snowballs at you," she said.

"That just makes you mean."

"You throw them back," Katara protested.

"I've never denied my own mean streak," he smirked.

"I've bathed with you," she said, her cheeks warming.

"That makes you a potential lover, not a friend," he said.

"Most lovers are friends, Zuko."

"None of mine. I've fucked plenty of girls and don't even know any of their names," he said.

"Well that just makes you a scoundrel," Katara replied contrarily.

Zuko laughed.

"As opposed to the Waterbender who's only fucked a crazy guy," he rolled his eyes.

"Hey!" Katara blushed. "I've already confessed that it was a mistake to sleep with Jet because I rushed into it before realising what a horrible person he is. But at least I know his name."

Zuko smirked. "Funny how the next person on your list is an even worse person and you know it, but you still want to fuck me."

Katara blushed crimson. "I never said that."

"You did," he argued. "In the bath. And confessing such means that you still don't count as my friend. You just want to get laid."

Katara swatted him. "If that's what I'd wanted, I'd have slept with you in the bath then, wouldn't I? But I didn't, because I consider you my friend and because I didn't know if you were going to turn around and turn on me when we encountered your Uncle or my friends again. One mistake that ended in betrayal was enough for one lifetime, thank you."

Zuko smirked wickedly and Katara squirmed, thinking it might be a good idea to get off him after all. She'd held off on sleeping with him earlier out of fear and concern for the future, but they'd just spent a good long time detailing what that future might look like and she was definitely in it with him for a good long while yet. Worse, eventually he was going to have to 'betray' them and return to the Fire Nation capitol. He was going to have to do everything in his power to integrate himself back into the political life of the Crown Prince, and that might very well mean seducing certain people – most likely Mai – for the sake of bringing the government down from the inside.

Until they encountered Aang and Sokka again, Iroh had also suggested that it would be in their best interests to continue feigning a relationship. Katara wasn't so sure it was a good idea. She didn't know if she could keep kissing him without giving in to more and if she gave in for more she might fall for him and then she'd have her heart broken when he had to be with other people for the sake of their coup.

"Uncle mentioned that with this Reiki Kizuna nonsense it might be a bad idea if we fuck," Zuko told her, his smirk fading slowly and a frown forming once more.

"As though that would be the only bad idea about it?" Katara rolled her eyes.

Zuko held her gaze. "Still worried about your brother, then?"

"More concerned that if we do and it's terrible, I'll still have to talk to you for years to come," Katara sighed, resting her chin on his sternum and looking away from his eyes, her fingers toying with the faintest dusting of hair that decorated his chest.

She felt more than saw him nod in understanding, recognising that it was certainly a possibility. She knew his opinion on the matter that they would have to roll the dice and find out if they ever really wanted to know. Katara was of the opinion that it was better to be safe than sorry, especially now that they had months or even years where they'd be working together and even living together in close quarters.

She sighed softly, letting her eyes drift closed as the exhaustion of the long day began to catch up with her, feeling safe and warm and utterly at home in his presence, even if she was stretched out on top of him in the bed. Zuko slowly lifted his hands from the bed and rested them on the middle of her back, making Katara arch into the heat of them when he dug his thumb into the muscles that were a little bit sore, foretelling that soon her moon-time would come again, making her grumpy and sore for the coming days. She didn't know how he knew she was sore there, and she didn't ask, but she wasn't above accepting the relief of the caress.

"Katara?" Zuko asked quietly when she'd pillowed her cheek on the middle of his chest and burrowed her hands under his shoulders, cuddling into him where she laid atop him.

"Hmmm?" she hummed so he'd know she was awake even if she didn't want to move.

"You've said you don't want to risk it in case it's terrible," Zuko said. "But, what if it's not? What's if it's amazing?"

"It'll still be amazing when the war is over and you're not going to go off seducing people for the sake of the coup," she replied quietly, wondering if he'd realised that she was afraid to go further than the kisses and touches they'd shared because she feared that if they did, she'd fall for him.

She'd fall for him and then he'd have to leave and no amount of promises or reassurances would undo the betrayal and hurt she knew she would feel over the idea of him seducing anyone else, even for the sake of their plan and world peace. She didn't think she was strong enough to forgive something like that if she'd fallen in love with him first.

"What if we don't live that long?" Zuko asked and Katara's eyes opened when she realised she hadn't even thought of that.

They might not survive the invasion. He might not survive the viper's nest of a palace with his crazy sister and his evil father. Especially when the plan hinged on Iroh surrendering as a prisoner and eventually escaping prison to re-join their forces when it was revealed that Aang was alive after all. At any moment either one of them could be killed with a stray weapon or a well-placed blow.

The idea presented a crossroads within her mind. It was always better to be safe than sorry, but it was also better to have loved and lost, than to not have loved at all. What if she was destined to fall for Zuko and to die during the battle to restore him to his throne? What if she was destined to love him now and let him go at the end, when it was all over and the fight was done and they had to get back to their own Nations and rebuilding their homes?

What if she was too scared and she missed out, only to die in the end? What if her loving him was the thing he would turn to for strength when his faith was tested and the pull of blood and family called louder than the pull of the world or of friendship? Katara mulled it over, sleep suddenly seeming impossible once more as she tried to figure out what she was meant to do and how this was all supposed to go.

"What did your Uncle say about it being a bad idea for the two of us to be sexually intimate when we share a Spirit Bond?" Katara asked.

"That sometimes giving life to the Kizuna through physical joining cements the bond and makes it impossible to deny from then on," Zuko said.

Katara raised her eyebrows and lifted her head to peer at him sleepily once more. "Meaning that the feeling I already had earlier of not being able to sleep because you weren't in bed with me would be permanent and might cement some sort of romantic bond between the two of us for the rest of our lives?"

Zuko held her gaze, shrugging his shoulders.

"It's not guaranteed. He said it's possible. But if you already felt like you couldn't sleep after what we did earlier then it might be that the use of the bond with whatever training he was talking about causes that, not being intimate," he said. "What did it feel like for you, anyway?"

Katara blushed. "I think you already know," she said, looking down once more, her cheeks warming. She could feel him grinning.

"Relieved some of that _tension_ , then?" he asked.

"Did it not feel that way for you?" she asked.

"A bit," Zuko said. "Without the mess."

Katara snorted, unable to believe they were even having this conversation.

"Felt a bit like Bending, too. I wanted to try Firebending at you, but… on the inside," he said. "When you did it back while I was in a rage it didn't feel that way, though."

"No," she shook her head. It hadn't felt that way then for her either. When he'd lost his temper and she'd used it to encircle his chi it hadn't made her feel more attracted to him or like she'd achieved release. It felt like something else. Something more. Something good and strong and safe. She felt a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach when she lifted her eyes to his once more, realising that when she'd done it to him it had felt a bit like she imagined it would feel were she ever in danger, but safe with him.

It didn't feel that way when she calmed Aang down out of the Avatar state. It had felt more intimate. Closer. With Aang it always felt like a relief to have him calm down so he wouldn't hurt himself or anyone else and it felt good as his friend and as some who cared for him very deeply. With Zuko it had felt more like she imagined it might feel to hold someone's heart together for them.

"This is… complicated," she said, looking into his eyes and seeing the same confused, and worried, and perhaps even hopeful sparkles in them as surely as they were in her own.

Zuko nodded in agreement.

"Sex will only complicate it further," she pointed out.

Zuko nodded again, acknowledging the truth of that fact. She could see that he felt as conflicted about it as she did.

"What are you going to do if we do this and then you have to return to the capitol?" she asked him quietly. "It's one thing to say that waiting might be wretched if we don't survive, but what if we do? You're going to be Fire Lord. If we have sex and it does something to the Reiki Kizuna that makes us crave each other forever that would mean I would have to be…."

Katara trailed off, frowning at him.

"The next Fire Lady," he finished for her, his voice raspy with exhaustion and maybe a little desire. "And who knows how the Fire Nation would react to that idea, since you're a Waterbender?"

"Cooperation between Nations would have a poster-couple, though," Katara mused, frowning thoughtfully. "But I'd have to put up with your bad moods forever. And we'd be ripped apart by the need to help our own Nations rebuild. And you'd have to put up with me – and I can tell you that I don't like most of what I've seen of your Nation's customs, Zuko. I wouldn't make a particularly respectful Fire Lady. This isn't just some discussion over the idea of dating or breaking up when you have to go back to fool them all and take the government apart. If our Reiki Kizuna does something that means we're even more linked than we already are, that's the rest of our lives. You realise that, right?"

Zuko nodded slowly, his brow furrowed too, obviously thinking hard about it all and trying to come to some kind of conclusion.

"Would Aang know anything about them?" he asked eventually.

"He might," Katara nodded. "He was only twelve when the Air Nomads were wiped out and he went into the ice, but he'd mastered Air Bending enough to gain his tattoos before then, so I'm sure he must know everything about his own culture. If it really was such an integral part of their people's culture to the point of being blamed on them, he'd surely know _something_ about them. We could ask him when we find him again."

"And until then?" he raised his eyebrow at her, looking mildly amused by the way she lit up with hope that Aang might be able to shed some light on this thing.

"Until then we risk being stuck together permanently," Katara said. "Do you really want to be stuck with me forever?"

"I've never been stuck with anyone before," Zuko frowned a little.

Katara lifted up enough to sit straddling him as she stared at him, trying to understand all the things he didn't say whenever he said things like that. Suddenly the memory of the way he'd kissed her before they'd entered the tea shop and run into Iroh surfaced once more and she could almost taste his lips upon hers again.

"Zuko, why did you kiss me before we went into the restaurant?" she asked him quietly. "There were no soldiers paying us any attention that you had to hide from."

His mouth twisted to the expression between a smile and a frown and Katara jolted slightly when he lifted his hand to brush his fingers across her cheek before tracing the shape of her lower lip with the pad of his thumb.

"Does it matter?" he asked softly, his cheeks colouring faintly.

Katara searched his face carefully for some hint of emotion, some tiny clue of what he'd been thinking or why he'd done it.

"Yes," she said. "I think it does. Tell me why."

Zuko's lips twitched. "Bossy little thing, aren't you? Keep ordering people around like that and you'll be a prime candidate for Fire Lady."

Katara almost keeled over in shock and she was sure her knees would've buckled had she been standing. Before she could open her mouth and ask where that comment had come from and what he'd meant by kissing her for no apparent reason outside the restaurant, Zuko sat up far enough to reach her, his hand slipping into her loose hair and guiding her head down enough that he could steal a kiss from her lips. Katara squeaked in surprise, kissing him back just the same when the warmth and desire between the two of them kicked up a few notches, making her aware of just how she was sitting, straddled over his hips and dressed in nothing by her sarashi wraps.

When he pulled back, he lowered back down until he was lying flat once more, a hint of amusement glittering in his eyes.

"You asked me in the bath if I would stay," he murmured, his fingers still tangled in her hair. "Just before I kissed you outside, I realised that I wanted to."

Katara blinked in shock to hear him say it, having thought that he hadn't come to that decision until after reuniting with his Uncle and finding out about their Reiki Kizuna and realising that his Uncle wanted him to do the right thing, rather than continuing to work with the Fire Lord. The idea that he'd made the decision before all of that, when he might end up stuck travelling with just her, or with her, Meng and Kuzon until they reached the city seemed to override all common sense inside her head and without really thinking about it Katara leaned down toward him until she could press her lips to his.

Zuko groaned softly against her lips when she leaned into the kiss, her tongue darting out to trace his lower lip, begging entrance. He granted it, both of his hands fisting in her hair and pulling her to him more firmly while his hips bucked beneath hers. Katara's head swam with pleasure and warmth and desire, lust fogging her brain and making her crazy, and she felt all over again the way she'd done before Meng and Kuzon had arrived to interrupt them on the road four days ago.

When Zuko rolled them both across the bed, pinning her beneath him and kissing her harder, Katara let her hands wander his bare torso, her fingers tracing shapes over his back and learning the width of his shoulders, the feel of his warm skin, enjoying the heady rush of simply _feeling_ him. As she kissed him delusional, Katara forgot all about the worry that he might steal her heart and break it, or that they might not survive the battle or that Sokka and Aang would be furious with her or even that she might be stuck with him forever if she let him have her now.

None of those things mattered. All that mattered was the feel of his body pressing hers into the mattress deliciously and the way his lips and tongue tasted against hers. All that she could feel was pleasure and happiness and desire as she arched under him, seeking friction, suddenly crazed with need. Tunnelling a hand into his hair, Katara kissed him harder, stroking his tongue with hers hungrily while her free hand abandoned his skin to tug at the ends of her wraps, trying to get them undone.

Zuko broke from her lips when she tugged the end of the sarashi, kissing along the length of her jaw and ducking his head to pepper kisses over her throat that drew a low, breathy moan from Katara. His hands traced hotly over her taut stomach while she tried to get her bindings off, the touch searing her skin in the most delightful way and making it hard to focus on her task.

"Having some trouble?" he asked, his voice wickedly husky and amused when she made a noise of frustration.

"Yes," Katara admitted, releasing his hair to push him back slightly so she had more room and could use both hands to better disrobe.

Zuko laughed wickedly, shifting further down her body to nuzzle his nose against her bare abdomen. Katara hissed at the ticklish sensation when he traced a line of burning kisses along the strip of skin just above the waist band of her sleep-pants. Heat pooled below her navel and she whimpered, arching against his mouth as she finally managed to untangle her wraps enough to unwind them from around herself.

When she'd freed her top half Katara froze only to find Zuko had done the same, his eyes fixed upon her hungrily, glittering with lust as he drank in the sight of her naked torso.

She'd expected him to curse. Or to immediately get grabby or to lunge for her with a hungry mouth. Jet had done all of those things when she'd stripped this far with him. He'd been on her before she could even process that she was half-naked with a boy and she'd been swept up in it all.

Not Zuko.

Unlike the nonbender she'd bedded, Zuko was a Firebender and that meant he understood control and restraint. She'd bet he also understood the simmering, tantalizing effect of making her wait, squirming beneath his gaze, rather than pouncing and offering instant stimulation. And squirm she did. The way he looked at her then made her whole body thrum with need and the feel of his chi rushing against hers, caressing her as though he already had his hands on her just made her want him even more.

"Have you ever been with a Firebender before?" he asked seriously after dropping one little kiss to her stomach just beneath her navel.

Katara shook her head. "I've never been with another Bender. Only with…"

Zuko nodded his understanding. In truth he'd never been with another Bender either.

"I've only fucked nonbenders, too," he admitted. "But I've heard stories that it's…"

"Intense?" she guessed.

"Dangerous," Zuko corrected her. "I imagine two benders of the same element wouldn't have too much to worry about, but we're opposites, Katara."

Katara shivered involuntarily, goosebumps racing across her skin at the way he said her name like that.

"You think we might hurt each other?" she guessed, folding her arms over her chest when her self-consciousness got the best of her.

"I think I could hurt you," he admitted. "Water is primarily a healing and soothing element. Fire is pain and destruction. When I still had my ship a few of the crew admitted that early on in their explorations they accidentally hurt their partners. The same way strong emotions affect Bending, sex affects it. I haven't… uh….I haven't fucked anyone in a while. And I haven't hurt anyone in even longer, but I've never fucked another Bender, so I have no idea what might happen if we proceed."

"You know, you could've told me all of this _before_ I stripped," Katara grumbled.

"You wouldn't have paid as much attention," he smirked. "Just be careful that you don't flood the room with snow, and tell me if I burn you, alright?"

Katara rolled her eyes but she nodded. Zuko dropped another kiss to her stomach, lowering his mouth to her skin and beginning to ascend her body toward where she'd folded her arms over her breasts. She squirmed again, heat and tension and something else rushing through her, building up inside of her. When he reached the underside of her breasts he lifted his head to peer over her arms at her, raising his eyebrow at her.

"This tends to be easier if you're not cringing and hiding, Water Bender," he told her before frowning slightly with worry. "Do you want me to stop?"

Katara frowned at him, considering saying yes for a moment because the butterflies rioting in her stomach were making her jittery and nervous and she still wasn't sure this was such a good idea. Reaching for him before she could blurt all that out, Katara tangled a hand in his hair and pulled his mouth back to hers. She could feel him smirking against her lips when he kissed her, obviously realising she was nervous and not entirely sure what she was doing, no matter her torrid, if short-lived, affair with Jet.

As he crawled back up her body, positioning himself over her despite the fact that they were both still wearing pants, Katara whimpered against his lips when he slotted his body between her spread legs, making himself at home in the cradle of her hips before grinding the rigid heat of his body against the junction of her thighs and making her see stars. She squeaked when his hot hands shifted to cup both of her breasts, skin on skin, and Katara arched under him subconsciously.

She got lost in his kiss and the feel of his hands on her body. She wasn't even thinking, she'd just begun to act, instinctively recalling what to do and where to touch to make him as crazy and as ready for it as he was making her. Zuko nipped her lips when she bucked her hips under him, grinding herself harder against the bulge in his pants and she whined, low and needy, when he kissed his way down her neck and over her chest.

When he laved her right nipple with his tongue Katara wondered if she had died. His fingers pinched the taut peak he'd made of the left nipple while he tormented her and his low, smug laugh only taunted her all the more as he licked and nipped her sensitive flesh before switching sides, moving his mouth to her left nipple and pinching the right one between his thumb and forefinger, rolling it in such a way that she was sure she might actually die.

"Stars, Zuko," Katara gasped raggedly and she blinked open lust-dazed eyes to find him watching her face as he tortured her, plucking the strings of her body just to see what sounds he might draw from her.

She was much too far gone to feel self-conscious or embarrassed as she arched into him again, wanting more. At some stage she'd tangled her fingers into his hair. Belatedly she realised that he had her at his mercy and she felt a little flare of defiance glow within her. Drawing one knee up, she rolled the two of them again until she was straddling him once more, making him lose his hold of her breasts as he found himself on his back under her. Katara repaid the attention he'd given her, trailing her mouth over his torso curiously, tracing the lines of muscle definition with her tongue and smirking just a bit at the way he writhed when she dragged her tongue over the ridges of his abs.

When she reached the waistband of his pants, Katara lifted up slightly, her fingers toying with the ties, her eyes drifting to his face. He watched her in return, his golden eyes glowing with lust and just daring her to keep going, to undo them and delve below his waistband. In her mind's eyes an image of him in all his naked glory when he'd stood, still glistening from their shared bath earlier filled her mind and Katara knew she wanted to keep going, even if she was nervous.

When she pulled the ties to undo his pants, Zuko smirked at her but she barely got them pulled open and began nuzzling her nose along the narrow treasure trail of hair that led south before he suddenly flipped them both back over. Katara squeaked when she almost fell off the bed at the sudden shift of position.

"What are you doing?" Katara breathed when he suddenly hauled her up against his chest, holding her to him firmly, stretched on her side and facing him, her nose burrowed against his chest.

"Shhh," Zuko breathed by her ear, going still but to loop his arm over her in such a way that her nudity was hidden.

Just before she could open her mouth to ask what was wrong and why he was stopping, the door between their room and Iroh's creaked open and the General peeked inside. She realised that Zuko must've heard him knock while Katara had been too busy trying to get into his pants. Iroh crept into the room and Katara had to stifle a nervous and amused giggle when he tip-toed over to the teapot and the tea-chest they'd abandoned earlier.

He picked up both, shooting a worried glance in their direction when Zuko shifted slightly, pulling her to himself a little more firmly lest Iroh catch a glimpse of her topless form. Through mostly closed eyes, Katara watched the way Zuko's uncle smiled at the pair of them fondly, looking rather like he approved of the way they were so entangled with one another, the sheets strewn haphazardly over them thanks to Zuko's quick reflexes, but nonetheless snuggled together.

He looked thoughtful and pleased as he watched them for a long moment, the type of pride she recalled seeing from her Gran Gran and her parents glittering in his eyes as though he were happy for Zuko. She supposed that after so long hoping his nephew would change his ways and grow as a person, it would certainly be something to be proud over. She wondered if, like her, Iroh was trying to puzzle out how much of Zuko's change of heart had to do with her, personally.

He didn't look like he was going to move, either, leaning in the doorway holding the tea-box and the pot as he watched them 'sleep' with all the pride and love of a father. Zuko shifted very slightly again, kicking one of his legs in what she suspected might be an attempt to ensure that his Uncle didn't see his erection. Katara had to bite her tongue on a giggle and supposed it might be a good idea to feign half-wakefulness as a result of the light pouring in from Iroh's room when he kept the door open that way.

Stirring in Zuko's hold, Katara lifted her head slowly, blinking and squinting first at Zuko to make Iroh think his restlessness had woken her, before she looked toward the light coming in through the door.

Iroh looked worried and apologetic when she met his gaze.

"Sorry for disturbing you," he whispered when Katara raised her eyebrows at him, feigning confusion.

"Is everything alright?" Katara asked, hoping he would think the huskiness of her voice was the result of just waking up, rather than because Zuko was driving her mad with need.

Iroh nodded, pushing away from the door and hoisting the teapot and tea-chest aloft for her to see. "Just retrieving these. Go back to sleep, Katara. It will be a long day tomorrow."

Katara nodded, laying her head back down, purposely burrowing her face into Zuko's chest and licking his nipple, smirking a little bit when he groaned very softly. Iroh lingered a moment longer before pulling the door closed. Zuko stayed still for another moment and Katara giggled very softly, nipping his chest lightly.

"I'm beginning to think the Universe doesn't want me to fuck you," Zuko grumbled, pulling back from her slightly to peer down at her.

"People do seem to have a way of interrupting us," Katara agreed, giggling some more.

"What did he want?" Zuko asked, glancing toward the door.

"The teapot and the chest," Katara told him.

"You know you're Golden Thread is in that chest, don't you?" Zuko smirked suddenly.

"He's already seen it, hasn't he?" she asked.

Zuko shook his head. "He had a little canister of green tea that he'd grabbed from somewhere on his travels since we were separated. He hasn't opened that one, yet."

Katara's cheeks flamed at the fact that Iroh was going to know she was taking contraceptive tea and she glanced guiltily at Zuko.

"This is your fault," she accused.

"You stole it, Water Bender," he reminded her.

"You insisted I drink it," she countered.

"You were the one undoing my pants and planning to require the tea," he said and Katara swatted him in frustration.

He laughed at her reaction, catching her arm and pulling her across him once more. Katara sighed softly, her stomach flipping when she spotted the smug grin on Zuko's face. Snuggling closer to him, Katara laid her cheek on his shoulder, her fingers tracing patterns over his abs once more, wandering slowly lower.

"The sun is rising," Zuko murmured quietly, one of his hands tracing patterns over her lower back while the other toyed with her left nipple.

"Is that an innuendo?" Katara snorted, lifting her head to look at him.

He blinked at her for a moment before grinning and glancing down at the front of his pants.

"No," he said. "That had already risen. I mean the actual sun, which means that anything else just got a lot more perilous."

Katara frowned in confusion, not sure what he meant until he pinched her nipple lightly.

"I've told you before that I rise with the sun, Water Bender," Zuko reminded her. "Every Firebender's energy increases tenfold as the sun rises. If I fuck you now, I'll accidentally hurt you."

"How? Katara said.

She blinked in shock when he exhaled and breathed fire by means of demonstration. She could feel his body temperature rising too, his chi suddenly racing against hers faster, hotter, surging within him as the power of his bending source grew. She knew the feeling. She felt the same way as the moon rose each day, and she realised that much like she was in the evenings, he was suddenly filled with energy and the urge to Bend just for the sake of Bending.

"Probably not the best time to be attempting sex with another Bender for the first time, then," she said, feeling more and more of his power increase, rushing all around her own.

"Probably not," he agreed. "Though it would certainly be a good outlet for all this energy."

Katara smirked at him. "There are ways to relieve energy and tension without sex," she reminded him, reaching for her courage and slipping her hand under the waistband of his pants, trailing south until she encountered the hottest part of him.

Zuko's breath hitched when she smoothed her cool hand over him, tracing the shape, size and length of him with her fingers nervously and watching his face. His eyes drifted closed when Katara wrapped her hand around him, squeezing lightly. She tried to remember the way Jet had showed her to do this, smoothing her hand up and down slowly and watching carefully for his reaction. She was careful about it, feeling how much of his energy and his pent up need was positively racing around them both, his chi practically fizzing and boiling it's ways around hers.

Katara jumped when, after a few experimental strokes, Zuko curled his hand around hers, tightening her grip slightly and guiding her hand the way he liked it. When she had the rhythm right he let go and Katara smiled as he moved his hand to her cheek, guiding her closer until he could steal a kiss from her lips. She could taste the fire on his tongue and feel it bubbling in his blood, blistering across her skin and making her whole body ache with need.

Her stomach flipped and she felt strangely powerful when his breath turned to ragged gasps as she trailed her mouth from his lips along his jaw and toward his scar without even thinking. He didn't stop her, even when she kissed along the outline of it below his left eye, her hand never ceasing its quick, sure strokes.

"Agni, Katara," he breathed, reaching for her and pulling her closer, his hands hot enough to burn. His hips bucked as she kept stroking him, up and down, over and over again, feeling his body growing hotter by the second.

When he slid one hand down her stomach and under the waistband of her pants, Katara hissed in surprise, his hot fingers suddenly finding her throbbing flesh and searing her slightly.

"Wait," she whispered, using her free hand to fish his hand from her pants, not certain she trusted those fingers not to burn her when he broke.

He caught her lips again instead, his tongue sliding against her and making her want to let him get his hands on her once more. She could taste the fire now, right there on his tongue and she mewled with wanting it, wanting him. He moved his hips faster and she knew he was close to breaking. When he began pushing at her with his chi – accidentally or intentionally, she didn't know – Katara realised he was going to explode. His chi encircled hers completely, the pressure building in her as surely as it built inside him and he hissed a curse between his teeth, breaking from her lips and jerking her closer to him before breathing fire over her shoulder as his body spamsed once, twice, before hot stickiness coated her palm and his stomach.

Katara hissed when she realised it was hot enough to scald and Zuko's hands on her lower back seared burns into her skin as he broke apart. His chi squeezed her so tight she'd swear she was dancing inside dragon-fire and Katara moaned at the feel of explosion as it rushed through him and into her. She squeaked in shock when something dizzingly hot and delicious and terrible all at once suddenly coiled through her before tipping her head and opening her mouth like she might scream.

Fire poured from her mouth in favour of sound and Katara was sure she panicked because despite the fire, her whole body began to glow blue with the healing magic she wielded and Zuko jerked against her, his eyes wide and his breath uneven. She was positively reeling when Zuko fished her hand from his pants and rolled them both, pinning her beneath him. She was still glowing faintly, dazed and strung so tight that she might squeal. His lips crashed down on hers hungrily, gratefully, worshipfully.

He swallowed the moan he drew from her, pinning her to the bed, his hands hot enough to burn through the ties on her pants when he tried to get them undone. His movements were tight and controlled, but there was an edge of desperation to them too, his tongue frantic against her own and his chi still pushing so insistently that she might die. When he burrowed his hand into her pants and found her flesh once more he wasted no time, spearing scorching fingers deep inside of her and twisting them, searching for something.

Her whole body jerked when he found it and worked it mercilessly.

"Z-Zuko," she gasped desperately, her hands gripping his shoulders like vices, her nails cutting into him as she felt like she'd suddenly been pitched into a hurricane.

She'd lost control and for the first time in a long time she felt like she was being thrown about in a wild sea of passion and she couldn't control it. She liked it. She loved it. She hated it. She felt powerful and powerless all at once and Zuko's fingers felt like hot coals scraping insistently at something deep inside of her that was going to bring her undone. Snow and ice buffeted the windows of the hotel room, threatening to break them as something in her coiled tighter and tighter, just begging to snap loose.

It was like a tidal wave when in crested and crashed over both of them. Zuko's mouth on hers muffled her scream and his whole body jerked when she clamped down hard on those hot, insistent fingers, the only thing anchoring her in the hurricane as it broke with a boom like lightning in the wildest of storms. When she opened her eyes Zuko was glowing the bright blue of her healing magic and his eyes were wide, their chi still rushing and fizzing and coiling together.

Katara kissed him, pulling his lips to hers once more, heedless of her own breathlessness. She kissed him until the hurricane seemed to dissipate and until he collapsed, boneless on top of her.

"Wow," she breathed when he burrowed his face into her neck, still panting. She could feel his heart hammering inside his chest, matching her own heart's wild and erratic beat.

"Did I hurt you?" Zuko asked, his voice raspy.

Katara's whole body was humming with too much energy to feel any pain as he rolled to the side, staring at her with wide eyes.

"I don't know," she admitted. "Did I hurt you?"

She peered over at him to spot the half-crescents her nails had cut into his shoulders. They weren't bleeding, thankfully, so she hadn't broken the skin, but they were still there.

"You breathed fire," he said, looking at her across the pillows with confusion and awe.

"So did you," she said. "And you glowed like my hands do when I heal."

He nodded. "That was…"

Katara nodded too. That was intense. Amazing. Unforgettable. Addictive. She was doomed, she realised as she met his gaze. He seemed to think it too, but he didn't comment on it.

"Whenever you need to burn off excess energy," she began, grinning at him. Zuko laughed, grinning in return as he reached for her, not seeming to care that they were both covered in sweat and stickiness and each other. He tugged her across the slightly damp sheets, pressing her to his side once more.

"Just so you know, Water Bender," he said quietly as sleep rushed up to lay claim to both of them. "Rolling the dice was definitely worth it."

Katara hummed sleepily in agreement, feeling the way he pressed a kiss to the top of her head just before she drifted off into an extremely contented sleep.


	17. Chapter 17

**A/N: As those of you who follow me on social media will know, I've recently gotten a new job, so I'm sorry for the slightly late chapter. I kept trying to get the editing done to post it and I kept dozing off on the keyboard because this new job is way more mentally demanding and completely different hours to what I'm used to. I hope you enjoy this chapter. I can't wait to see what you make of the developments.**

 **xx-Kitten.**

* * *

 **Brightest Nights or Darkest Days**

 _By Kittenshift17_

* * *

 **CHAPTER SEVENTEEN**

* * *

Zuko blinked stupidly when he felt someone shake his shoulder to wake him up. He'd slept hard. Harder than he could recall sleeping since he'd been banished and was recovering from the terrible burn to his face. Without thinking, he drew his dagger from beneath his pillow, ready to defend himself despite his disorientation, and his Uncle jumped back out of the way before he could catch the sharp edge of the blade.

"Easy, my nephew," Iroh soothed quietly. "It's just me. It's time to get up for the day. You and Katara have slept late and your friends are here and worried."

Zuko blinked again, focusing on his uncle for a moment before trying to sit up. His progress was impeded by a weight on his chest and he glanced down, dagger still gripped tightly, to find a mess of dark hair spread across his chest and stomach, and the pretty face of a sleeping Waterbender pointed in his direction. The activities that preluded his deep sleep came rushing back and Zuko smirked a little, lowering his weapon to reach for the girl.

He winced ever so slightly when he noticed that some of her hair was stuck to his stomach, pulling at the skin a bit where last night's mess had been forgotten rather than cleaned up.

"Katara" he said, shaking the Waterbender lightly, waiting for her to stir. She made a noise of protest without opening her eyes and Zuko almost smiled.

Almost, because as she shifted slightly against him, trying to evade his grip so he'd stop shaking her, he realised she was still topless, her sarashi bunched up on the bed next to their prone forms. Shooting a glance at his uncle, Zuko winced when Iroh winked at him, chuckling lightly.

"I'll give you some privacy," Iroh said. "Your friends were knocking on the door insistently, so I let them in and took them through to my room. Dress quickly. We need to get going."

Zuko nodded, watching his uncle leave while he tried to rouse the grumpy Waterbender.

"Wake up, peasant," he said, knowing the address would get a rise out of her.

Her eyes snapped open, narrowed to slits with fury and she glared at him from his chest.

"We have to get up," Zuko told the girl. "And you have to get dressed. Uncle was just in here and could've seen you naked, Water Bender."

Katara's glare fade in favour of bright red cheeks as she apparently recalled last night as vividly as he did.

"Your hair is stuck to me," Zuko said, reaching for it and reefing, hissing when it stung the skin as it pulled free.

"Why?" Katara groaned.

"Good Morning to you, too," Zuko smirked darkly.

"What is in my hair?" Katara wanted to know, pulling her fingers through it as she sat up. She made a face when she found it stiff and crunchy.

"I'll give you two guesses," Zuko said.

Katara's eyes went wide and her cheeks flushed.

"Oh, gross!" she growled. "Zuko!"

"It's not my fault," Zuko protested. " _You_ made it angry enough to spit at you."

Katara thumped him in the chest.

"What is wrong with you?" she demanded. "You don't clean up after?"

"You didn't clean up either, Water Bender," he reminded her. "You were too busy passing out on me. Just get off me and get dressed. Meng and Kuzon are in Uncle's room. They came looking for us."

"Of course they did," Katara growled grumpily, snatching up her shirt and her wraps before rolling out of bed and stomping into the bathroom.

Zuko laughed to himself as he followed her, amused by her wretched mood. He felt great, himself. He'd thoroughly enjoyed himself before bed and he'd slept well, even if he'd slept hard. He could feel the sun outside the room too. It felt stronger, somehow, as though maybe the blizzard was beginning to lessen.

"Why are you following me?" Katara demanded, sounding grouchier than ever and Zuko raised his eyebrows at the Waterbender when she began to strip herself naked, apparently beyond caring that he would see her in all her glory as she stripped out of her pants and stood under the shower, using her Bending to make the water gush through the pipes to rush over her.

His eyes were drawn to every curvy, sinewy inch of her, drinking in the sight and feeling his body grow hard in response.

"Don't look at me like that, Zuko. We don't have the time and I'm too annoyed at you."

"Me? What did I do?" he demanded, frowning at her and wondering how badly she might hurt him if he climbed into the shower with her, needing to bathe their combined essences off his skin, too.

"You talked me into this mess in the first place," she said.

" _You_ were the one who stuck her hand down my pants after I said it would be a bad idea," he argued.

"Yeah, well you were the one who pushed with his chi until everything got completely out of control and we ended up too exhausted to get out of bed and clean off," she snapped. "And what do you think you're doing? You can't just climb into the shower with me!"

"I need to wash, too," he said, climbing into the shower with her, uncaring that she'd see him naked or that he had a raging hard-on. "We need to leave. We overslept because you got grabby."

"I'll get grabby with a weapon and bludgeon you if you keep annoying me," she growled, moving over far enough to make room for him under the spray of the water and handing him the soap when she was finished with it.

"What are you so cranky about?" Zuko wanted to know. "I don't have a lot of experience with the morning after, but I thought fucking was supposed to make people feel happy."

"We didn't fuck," she said, illustrating how out of sorts she really was that she swore in such a way after she'd pointedly avoided doing so up until that moment.

"We both orgasmed, Katara," Zuko said. "No matter what body part caused it, if you come, then you fucked. And we both came, so we fucked."

She rolled her eyes, running soap through her hair and combing her fingers through it, trying to untangle the mess it had been left in thanks to the stickiness. Zuko hid his amusement and busied himself with bathing. He didn't at all like the idea of having to put up with Meng again today and he'd almost forgotten, with all of their planning, that the other Firebender and his annoying Earthbender girlfriend would still have to be dealt with.

Zuko suspected his Uncle was going to insist that the two of them be allowed to travel alongside them to Ba Sing Se, even if only for the sake of maintaining a better cover story that they were refugees and couldn't possibly be the exiled Fire Prince, a disgraced General, or the girl rumoured to have been travelling with the Avatar. Two commoners would help hide them, even Zuko could admit that. He didn't have to like it, but he would admit that having them along might be annoying, but could also be useful.

If nothing else, at least Uncle might be able to show Kuzon how to be a proper Firebender. During their time stuck in the igloo, Zuko had showed the other boy a number of Firebending forms and gotten him into the routine of keeping in peak physical condition for the sake of his Bending, but there was certainly more that he could be taught and Uncle was a far more patient teacher.

It had felt strange at first, the idea of teaching anyone else Firebending when he still wasn't technically a Master himself. He'd found that the boy knew some of the basic forms, and little else. He needed a lot of training if he was every going to be of any use in a fight, but Zuko had persevered to teach him when he'd seen how much Kuzon wanted to learn. Teaching him also had the added benefit of ensuring he didn't have to listen to Meng prattle quite as much, so Zuko had done it and would continue to do it if the pair decided to come with them on the rest of their journey.

"If Meng talks too much today, I might ice her mouth shut," Katara grumbled darkly, obviously dreading seeing the girl again almost as much as Zuko was.

He wondered why she was in such a rotten mood, eyeing her through one eye when he foolishly got soap in the other one. She usually wasn't this grumpy. Most of the time she was nice and pleasant and put up with Meng with good grace and even seemed to like the Earthbender. Today she seemed ready to commit murder and Zuko had no idea why. He was in a good mood. After all, he'd gotten to do forbidden things to the feisty little Waterbender and might get to do them again, if she stopped being so cranky.

Katara didn't elaborate on her plans of murdering Meng if the need arose and Zuko didn't want to push his luck too much by continuing to engage her when she seemed so angry. Instead he hurried about washing himself and got back out of the shower before the Waterbender was finished, leaving her to the hot water and her thoughts while he dried off, dressed and packed all of his things. He packed all of Katara's things into her bag, too, leaving clean clothing out for the girl to wear and packing up the rest so they could be on their way.

When she joined him she huffed over the idea of having things laid out for her and she dug into one of the pouches in her rucksack, looking for something. Zuko frowned at her when he watched her locate a small pouch with tealeaves in it that he didn't recognise. Having spent a good little while rummaging through her pack to figure out where everything was supposed to go, he knew better than to ask why she was keeping those tealeaves separate from the others in the tea-chest like her contraceptive tea.

That pouch had all the girly stuff she needed for what she referred to as her Moon-time. Zuko didn't want to even think about any of that, so he didn't ask why she kept tea in there along with a bunch of strips of cloth and other things for dealing with what her body did once a month. He kept his mouth shut as he watched her slip the leaves into her pocket before packing up the last of her things into her pack and carrying it into his Uncle's room.

Zuko wasn't thrilled by the sight of Meng's wide smile of greeting or the way the girl's green eyes lit up with happiness when they both appeared, but he didn't comment.

"Good morning!" Meng said. "I'd begun to wonder if you two were ever going to get out of bed. How are you both feeling today?"

"Fine," Zuko grunted when Katara didn't answer. He watched her go over to the teapot his Uncle had obviously used to brew some tea for himself, Kuzon and Meng. She handed it to him silently to reheat before pouring a cup of tea for him and handing that over without a word.

When it was done she emptied the contents and refilled it, handing the pot to him a second time after fishing her contraceptive tea from the tea-chest – pointedly not making eye contact with his Uncle as she did so. She dumped the leaves into the pot when he'd boiled the water and then she added the extra ones she'd stuck in her pocket, too.

"Grumpy today, huh?" Kuzon asked when Zuko took his cup in silence and moved over to sit beside the other Firebender.

"We don't ask those sorts of questions," Zuko muttered to Kuzon, drinking his tea and keeping one eye on the angry Waterbender.

"Rough night?" Kuzon said. "I see you located your Uncle."

Zuko nodded.

"Long night," he replied in a low voice. "Are you and Meng still planning to travel with us to Ba Sing Se?"

" _May_ we still travel with you, Zuko?" Kuzon countered, raising one eyebrow at him. "I wouldn't presume permission to travel with the Prince of the Fire Naiton and the most respected General of our Nation without invitation."

"Can you keep your girlfriend's perkiness to a minimum?" Zuko asked in retort. "And stop fucking her when I've got to see it?"

"You could always shut your eyes," Kuzon smirked cheekily.

"It's not the looking that the problem," Zuko said. "It's how loud she is. I've heard quieter Hog-Monkeys."

Kuzon snorted, obviously as pleased as he was that Meng was too busy delightedly annoying Zuko's Uncle with inane questions and chatter to pay attention to the conversation between Zuko and her boyfriend.

"You really wouldn't mind us travelling with you?" Kuzon asked seriously when his amusement faded. "I know she's annoying when she chatters and that you were ready to kill her yesterday."

"We're all travelling in the same direction," Zuko shrugged. "Just make sure you buy enough food before leaving this time. And carry your own weight. Uncle might be too nice to say so, but he doesn't hold with dead-weight companions. If you and Meng are only going to slow down the trip or get in the way, he'll ditch you."

"Have we slowed you down so far?" Kuzon frowned.

"Yes," Zuko nodded. "Neither of you are as fit as me or Katara. We can walk faster and might've got here in half the time yesterday if Meng didn't insist on stopping to look at the scenery and stopping to make friends with everyone else on the road."

"She's just being friendly, Zuko," Kuzon sighed. "She'd never been outside her village until I came along and took her away from it."

"Why are you taking her to Ba Sing Se? On a holiday?"

"To make a new life," Kuzon admitted. "The Fire Nation soldiers had been occupying her village for a while, but things were getting more out of control and more dangerous as more moved in with this renewed push to conquer Ba Sing Se. If we didn't get out she was likely to end up killed by someone who got too annoyed with her, or raped by the less savoury among the ranks of the Fire Nation army when she was too nice and too naïve for her own good."

Zuko nodded.

"Do you actually _like_ her?" he asked quietly, eyeing the pretty Earthbender while she chatted.

"Would I bring her with me if I didn't?" Kuzon asked in reply.

"Maybe," Zuko shrugged. "If you've got some ulterior motive for keeping her around. Why her?"

"Why Katara?" Kuzon challenged.

Zuko's lips twitched. Outside of Katara, no one else had ever really spoken to him in a way that wasn't respectful or fearful thanks to his superior rank and birthright. Kuzon knew he wasn't on equal with the Prince of the Fire Nation – exiled or not – but he'd set aside some of his respectful for blunt honesty that Zuko suspected could turn into friendship if he allowed it.

"Do you know who she really is?" Zuko asked.

Kuzon slanted a glance toward Katara, watching her make a face of disgust as she drank her tea before she crossed the short distance to Zuko and took his half-drunk cup to wash down her tea with his.

"I could take a guess," Kuzon admitted.

"Mmmm," Zuko nodded.

"So you have an ulterior motive, then? Does _she_ know that?" Kuzon challenged.

"I have many ulterior motives," Zuko replied. "But all of them factor her into them with her as an ally, not an enemy."

"Why do I get the feeling that you and your Uncle have a grand plan that will likely rent the world as we know it into smithereens?" Kuzon asked.

"Because you might be smarter than I've been giving your credit for," Zuko smirked. He grunted when Kuzon punched his arm, laughing.

"Are you two packed, Meng?" Katara asked when she'd finished drinking tea, emptying the tea pot and carrying both the pot and the chest over to Zuko before working them into his pack.

"Oh. Yes, we have," Meng smiled at the Waterbender. "We need to buy supplies if we're continuing our travels today, but everything is packed except what we buy. I know you said that you need supplies, too, so I thought that it would make more sense for us all to shop together, that way we can distribute everything we'll need between the four – now five – of us so that we won't run out of anything."

"Good," said Katara. She turned to Zuko's uncle and hesitated a moment, obviously unsure if she should call him Iroh or Mushi in front of Meng and Kuzon.

"I was just saying to Meng that it will be nice to stock up on all my favourite teas," Iroh smiled at Katara. "It's a waste to carry around a tea-chest with empty canisters. I don't know what my nephew was thinking."

"That you weren't with me to drink them and that I'd buy the wrong ones," Zuko told him, smirking.

"And here I'd doubted your levels of sense," his Uncle teased and Zuko laughed, surprised to hear the man making jokes at his expense. He'd always been quick witted and Zuko himself could be mean, but his Uncle usually didn't make jokes at Zuko's expense for fear of angering him. It spoke volumes that he would do so now, after all that had transpired last night, toward how much he'd held back even with Zuko, for fear of revealing his grand plan.

They all got to their feet when Katara announced that if they were buying tea, she wanted a moon-peach blend, immediately engaging his uncle in conversation about the man's favourite topic.

"Does Meng know who my Uncle really is?" Zuko asked Kuzon.

"I may have addressed him as General and bowed when he answered the door to your room," Kuzon admitted, blushing faintly. "But I doubt she'd know who the Dragon of the West is unless we explained it to her. She already knows you're the prince, though, and you've been calling him Uncle, so she'll figure it out eventually. I reminded her to call you Lee and to call him Mushi when we're in public or might be overheard."

Zuko nodded before regarding the boy next to him.

"Do you know that you're both in danger, travelling with the three of us? We're some of the most Wanted criminals in the Four Nations, second only to the Avatar."

"And the Blue Spirit," Kuzon said. Zuko smirked at the other boy for a moment, waiting for him to connect the dots. When he did, his eyes widened.

"You…?"

Zuko nodded.

"Agni, Zuko," Kuzon hissed. "Are you _trying_ to get yourself killed?"

"I'm trying to reclaim my throne," Zuko said, deciding that if he and Meng were travelling with them, they needed to know the basics of their plan. If it seemed like they would betray them, Zuko would kill them both and that would be that.

"By capturing the Avatar?" Kuzon confirmed.

Zuko shook his head. "Not anymore. We have a new and more effective plan now. Tell me the truth, Kuzon. You don't like the way the Fire Nation is run right now, do you?"

Kuzon looked worried for a moment before he shook his head.

"Neither do I," Zuko said. "The soldiers are bullies and morons, the people are greedy and we're _not_ spreading our greatness to the rest of the world, we're just trying to conquer them. If you come with us, you'll end up incorporated into the plan to take down my father and restore balance to the world, Kuzon. Can you do that? Or do I need to silence you to make sure word never gets back to the Fire Nation until it's too late for them?"

"You're taking them down? You'll take over as Fire Lord? One who won't spread violence and hatred?" Kuzon asked, his eyes lighting up.

"If the plans works," Zuko nodded.

"Then I want in," Kuzon said. "I've lived in the Earth Kingdom since my Mum was banished and I prefer their way of life to the rigidity of our society. I was heading to Ba Sing Se with Meng to make a life there, Zuko. But I miss home. I miss the heat and the food and some of the people. If I could have it back, restored to the glory our people once displayed not in ability to win battles of dominate others, but the rich heritage you and I learned about as boys, I'd… I'd do anything to take Meng with me to that kind of homeland."

Zuko felt a sly smile grow upon his face, recognising in that instance that Kuzon might prove more useful to him than he'd imagined.

"There will come a time when I will have to return _before_ those things can happen, Kuzon," he said quietly. "When it will seem that I've betrayed Uncle and Katara and the Avatar. I have to be reinstated as Prince if I want to be crowned when my father falls. And I have to clean house of the War Generals and other Government officials that are too closely connected to my father. It would be… useful… to be seen with another Firebender on my side as loyal to me and it would help me to have another pair of eyes and ears in the palace. If you're coming with us, that could be you."

"What about Meng?"

"Don't tell her the plan," Zuko said. "I don't trust her not to blurt it out to everyone she meets. But if she's the girl for you, there'd be room for her in my new empire. She might have to hide her Earthbending, for a time. But there will come a day when it will be very important to the world and the Fire Nation's place in it that we be seen cooperating with the other Benders and other nations. An Earthbending wife to my trusted advisor would look good in the eyes of the world not just as a means of being seen cooperating, but as a stamp of approval that not all Firebender are all _that_ bad."

Kuzon looked shocked and honoured at the notion that he might be considered a trusted advisor to the Fire Lord one day and Zuko hid a smile when the other Firebender grinned widely.

"You would... make me an advisor?" he asked. "I'm just the son of a handmaid, Zuko. And I was banished. How will I be welcomed back if I was banished?"

"I was banished too," Zuko shrugged. "For the most part, only decent people have been banished from the Fire Nation in the last hundred years. It would do us good to have most of those decent people back, I imagine."

Kuzon's grin was wide.

"Could I eventually take my mother home, too?" he asked.

Zuko nodded. "It might be a while yet, Kuzon," he warned. "But it will be before Sozin's comet comes that we'll stage the coup. Until then there is much to do."

Kuzon nodded his head, too, but Zuko could see how excited the other boy was at the prospect of returning home with his family to a Fire Nation that wasn't so bent of arrogance and dictatorship.

"What's the first step to this plan, then?" he asked.

"Get to Ba Sing Se in one piece," Zuko grinned.

"And then?"

"Blend in until the Avatar shows up - he's heading that way to meet up with Katara again. From there, things step up a notch."

"Right," Kuzon nodded. "Then what are we waiting for? Let's get going. We need supplies and we need a faster way to travel, I think."

"Ostrich-horses don't do so well in the snow," Zuko pointed out, watching as Meng, Katara and Iroh approached the market intent on buying enough food to last them several days or weeks.

"What about some Komodo-Rhinos?" Kuzon smirked, looking sideways at Zuko before pointing at a Fire Nation army sign directing soldiers toward a nearby farm where they'd been breeding Komodo-Rhinos for ease of travel in this area.

"We'd be caught," Zuko said.

"With enough gold the merchant might sell us a couple," Kuzon argued. "They prefer the warmer weather, but we'd be able to carry more and we'd be less likely to be stopped by the soldiers since it's usually only Fire Nation folks who ride them."

"How would we carry enough food for them?" Zuko asked.

"They'd carry it," Kuzon rolled his eyes. "That's the whole point. We don't need tents or anything for cover, since we've got Katara to bend ice, or Meng to bend Earth if the need arises and the ice runs out. We only need food for us and the rhinos, and our other survival supplies."

"How are we going to get any without being caught? Uncle and I stand out."

"Yeah, but I don't," Kuzon grinned. "Most of the time I pass myself off as a Fire Nation Colonial and the soldiers don't give me much trouble. If I say I'm an errand boy sent to pick up a few extra rhinos for the increasing number of soldiers pushing toward Ba Sing Se, they won't even blink."

"We'd need at least three," Zuko pointed out.

"Then I'll get three," Kuzon shrugged. "Here, take my pack. How much gold do you have on you?"

Zuko handed over a small sack, accepting the bag from his newly minted friend and advisor. Kuzon winked before darting off in the direction of the farm, calling over his shoulder. "Meet me on the outskirts of town, the road headed toward Kei Lan."

Zuko nodded and moved over to join his Uncle, Katara and Meng in the busy marketplace. Despite Katara's prediction of another blizzard, the weather had warmed enough to bring many people from their homes, the shops all open and travellers already buying up everything they could to search for friends.

"Where's Kuzon?" Meng asked when Zuko strode up to where Katara was debating over what food to buy.

"He's handling another supply matter. He'll meet us on the way out of town," Zuko said, ducking his head and pressing a kiss to the side of Katara's neck when one of the soldiers looked up him suspiciously for a moment.

Katara didn't blink, she just began to argue with the merchant of the store about how well the meats she was looking at might keep if the weather heated up. His uncle moved away a little, spying a tea-shop and obviously planning to purchase whatever he could get his hands on. Zuko himself looked over the array of meats, fruits, nuts and vegetables on offer, smirking to himself when Katara titled her head a little to one side to better let him access her neck as he kissed her skin a second time. Meng was in the process of collecting fruits and nuts for their travels, arguing with another vendor about moon-peach prices. Zuko nipped Katara lightly and pushed away when he spotted a shop across the street selling essentials like toilet paper, crossing to buy enough to last the five of them for a few weeks.

"How are you going to fit all that in your bag, Lee?" his uncle asked when he'd finished buying tea.

"Kuzon's seeing to our transportation," Zuko muttered to his uncle. "There's a Rhino farm just outside town. He's getting three."

Iroh smiled slowly.

"That's good to hear," he said. "I will make sure the girls buy a bit more food. You buy up some feed for the Rhinos. We need to get going. Your scar is attracting some attention. Put your hood up, nephew."

Zuko obeyed, nodding his head and watching Iroh hurry for some weapons and some of the other things they needed to support five people living on the road when they didn't have to carry it all themselves. He made sure to keep a close eye on all the soldiers in the marketplace. Most of them were dressed casually, obviously not on duty and seeming to have mostly taken over this little village for their own purposes. When he was almost ready to go, watching the others gather the things they all needed or wanted for the journey, Zuko blinked when Katara suddenly bounded up to him and kissed him square on the lips. For a minute he thought she'd merely overcome her bad mood after waking up sticky and still tired, but when she nuzzled her face inside his hood, her cheek pressing to his scar, he realised she was trying to hide him from something.

"The pair of soldiers on the porch of the ale-house over there are watching you, Zuko," she breathed in his ear. Her arms were full of groceries and supplies, but she still leaned into him. "You should get out of here and meet Kuzon."

"I'm ready to go when you are," Meng said at that moment, also bouncing over with entirely too much perkiness for Zuko's taste, smiling brightly.

"Me too," Iroh said from a little further down the street, obviously overhearing the girl. "We can re-pack our supply bags a little better outside of the marketplace, I think."

Zuko nodded, juggling everything he was carrying to loop his arm around Katara's shoulders and tuck her into his left side before laying his hooded head against the top of hers in a way he hoped would look adoring and contented, rather than like he was hiding. They all hurried through the snow on their way out of town and Zuko kept a close eye on the soldiers as they went. When Meng started walking backwards, her eyes darting over everything despite the way she grinned and began chattering about what it would be like to start a street-wide snowball fight, Zuko thought she was being an idiot. Before he could say so, Katara nudged him.

"She's keeping watch to make sure that we're not followed," she whispered to him before she laughed loudly and said that it might not be the best idea to throw snowballs at unsuspecting townsfolk unless they wanted to be pelted with snow themselves, engaging the girl in discussion about the effect of the weather on her hair and how she hoped it would get warmer.

Meng's eyes continued to dart about, taking in everything and she began tapping her fingers against the grocery basket she was carrying, first one, then two, then four and Zuko realised she was counting the number of soldiers wandering in their general direction. He scowled, feeling Katara shift slightly next to him before suddenly there was a shout of shock and despair behind them.

Zuko glanced behind and couldn't help but laugh when he spied several soldiers standing in a mound of snow that had 'accidentally' slid off the nearby rooftop to land on them.

When they reached the outskirts of town and made certain they hadn't been followed, they all began rearranging things into each of the packs waiting for Kuzon to return.

"Should've suggested someone to help with these," the Firebender appeared just as they were beginning to wonder where he'd gotten too. He was leading three komodo-rhinos and they were obviously unruly, probably freshly trained and not pleased about the snow. "They nearly got away from me on the way over here."

"What are those?" Meng squealed, jumping behind Iroh in fright and Zuko realised she really was sheltered if she didn't know what a komodo-rhino was.

"We're riding those to Ba Sing Se?" Katara asked, eyeing the beasts with trepidation.

"Would you prefer to walk?"

"I'd prefer to fly," Katara muttered. "Or to ride a Polar-Bear-Dog."

"What's a Polar-Bear-Dog?" Meng asked.

Katara glanced at the girl as though the answer should be obvious.

"It's an animal from the Water Tribes," Katara said, apparently back to being grumpy again. "Some people keep them as pets to travel with or help with tribe business. We're riding Rhinos? Aren't they uncomfortable?"

"That's what the saddles are for," Kuzon pointed. "They're a bit tougher than Ostrich-Horses and might not draw as much attention to us on the road."

Zuko shook his head, smirking when Katara muttered about how much easier it was to fly on Appa, and how she missed her brother and the Avatar, and how she wanted to ride a rhino as much as she wanted to stick shards of ice into her eyes. Her bad mood amused him more than it should, even if he didn't completely understand the cause. The five of them packed their gear into the saddle bags and Zuko watched Kuzon give Meng a leg up to climb aboard the rhino when they were ready to go. His uncle was already mounted up and he realised with a jolt when Katara glanced at him that they were both at odds over who should take the reins.

"I'm driving," he warned. "They won't listen to a Waterbender."

Kuzon was chuckling as he jumped up behind Meng, wrapping his arms around the girl while Katara glared at Zuko.

"All the more reason an Ostrich-Horse or a Polar-Bear-Dog would've been better" she snapped. "Only stupid animals listen to just one kind of bender."

"They're trained for use by the Fire Nation army - we don't enlist non-benders to fight," Zuko pointed out.

"Another reason that the Fire nation is horrible. Nonbenders are just as capable of fighting. Look at Sokka."

"The guy I've beaten in a fight how many times, now?" Zuko challenged. "I took his weapon and used it against him on the very first day when he ran at me."

"He'd never fought anyone before!" Katara argued.

"He throws a boomerang, Katara," Zuko pointed out. "And he's medicore with a sword compared to me."

"He hasn't been trained," she argued. "Dad left to fight in the war with your stupid Nation before he could teach Sokka everything and he's been with us since, muddling his way through."

"I'll add him to the list of people I have to teach to fight, then," Zuko snapped. "Now get on the Rhino, Water Bender."

She made a noise of fury at him when he gripped her hips and threw her up into the saddle before vaulting on behind her, pinning her in place and snatching up the reins, before swatting the Rhino with a fire-encased palm to get it moving. Katara grumbled the whole way as they left the village, about how she wasn't going to be pushed around just because he was the Prince and how he could forget it if he thought manhandling her was okay and how the next time he did anything like that she was going to water-whip him in punishment.

Zuko ignored her, setting a rapid pace to keep the Rhino's warm enough for the journey. The others followed behind and they made good time as they headed into the wilderness.


	18. Chapter 18

**A/N: I'm so sorry I fell behind on that weekly schedule I had going everyone. I'm going to do better, I promise.**

 **xx-Kitten.**

* * *

 **Brightest Nights or Darkest Days**

 _By Kittenshift17_

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 **CHAPTER EIGHTEEN**

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Katara despised travelling on the Rhinos. It made her lower back ache and the saddle sent her rear numb and the constant sway of the waddling beasts did absolutely nothing for her cramps. For five days they had made good time, quickly closing the distance toward Ba Sing Se in large part thanks to the speed of the Rhinos and the fact that they didn't have to carry everything themselves, but Katara hadn't been enjoying the journey.

As she stiffly slid down from the saddle to land on the ground once more, Katara hissed and bent double when the sudden shift and twist on her internal organs caused shooting, stabbing pains throughout her midsection.

"Are you okay?" Zuko asked, frowning a little when he turned from beginning to unpack the saddle bags to set up camp for the night.

"No," Katara muttered.

The Firebender was angry with her thanks to the fact that she'd been in foul mood for days. Stuck in such close quarters, swaying along pressed against one another all day long aboard the Rhino, in combination with the fact that Iroh seemed to find perverse pleasure in discovering just how much Meng could actually talk in any given hour hadn't left either her or Zuko in the best of moods.

"What's wrong with you?" Zuko wanted to know, frowning at her slightly when she shushed him, not wanting Iroh, Kuzon and Meng to know that she was only suffering because of Moon-time.

"It's nothing, Zuko," she said, nudging him aside slightly to get at her pack.

"You've been saying that for five days," he argued.

"And I'll keep saying it until I'm not in pain anymore and this phase of the moon passes," Katara retorted, hoping he'd get the hint and recall the comment she'd made about the moon controlling more than just her bending.

Zuko froze as he watched her dig into a certain pouch within her pack – the only one she'd asked him not to ferret through whenever he raided it looking for the things she was carrying – and when he suddenly slapped his own forehead Katara glanced at him, startled.

"You could have just said something," he muttered awkwardly and Katara frowned at him even as he moved to stand behind her.

When he slipped his hands under the hem of her many layers of clothing – untucking several of them from her pants since their lack of physical exertion by walking themselves meant she'd had to rug up warmer, Katara frowned all the more. When he burrowed under her clothing far enough to finally reach her skin, Katara made a noise of impatience, thinking that this was definitely not the moment for him to be trying anything. Not that he'd tried anything during the past five days since they'd left the village behind. Beyond the kisses he'd pressed to her neck in the marketplace to hide his scar, he hadn't laid a desiring finger on her.

She opened her mouth to tell him that he wouldn't be doing so now either, unless he was actually interested in being covered in blood, but before she could say a word he smoothed his hot hands over her lower abdomen. Katara groaned, her head dropping back to rest upon his shoulder and her eyes drifting closed. Like a heat pack applied directly to the aching muscles, his hands felt divine, loosening some of her tension and easing some of the pain. She almost didn't want to move, though she was going to need fresh bindings if she didn't hurry.

Her whole body went boneless against Zuko's and he adjusted his weight slightly to catch her when she leaned back against him. Without thinking she smoothed her hands along his forearms to grip his wrists, adjusting his hold on her to better relieve the sorest spot and Zuko gave a little huff of amusement. She could feel his chi pushing against her just a little bit, warming her even more.

Opening her eyes slowly, she tilted her head on his shoulder to look at him. He met her gaze with one of those unreadable blank expressions that hid his emotions so very well, but his eyes glittered with sympathy and something else she couldn't name.

"Thank you," she murmured.

Zuko nodded, shrugging off the gratitude as nothing. Katara thought about informing him that no other boy she knew would react that way to realising a girl's moon-time was taking place. The one time during their travels so far when Sokka and Aang had figured out that she was so cranky because of her menses had resulted in them both suggesting to camp in the same spot until it was over as though fearing she might bleed all over Appa's saddle and Sokka had informed her that girls were disgusting, while Aang had tried for some kind of anecdote about using meditation to combat the bad feelings.

She'd almost murdered them both that day. She'd have thought that someone as unfamiliar with women as Prince Zuko, and indeed, someone who'd been raised as a spoiled, pampered Prince in a palace full of servants where she didn't doubt gender roles were strict and maintained, would be disgusted by the very idea that every month she and women the world over bled. When he'd spotted the supplies she'd stolen during their raid of the barracks he'd made faces and looked awkward when she'd tipped those things out of their sacks form the raid.

"How long?" he asked quietly.

"To go?" Katara asked. "Probably two or three more days."

"And then you won't be so cranky?" he asked and Katara might've blown up at him for the comment if he didn't sound genuinely curious, as though the effect of this time of the month was something wholly new to him that he was attempting to understand.

"With luck," she said. "Unless Meng keeps being so annoying with all that perkiness."

Zuko snorted with amusement at her snarky comment, suddenly seeming amused by her foul mood, rather than annoyed with her as he'd done for the past few days. She wondered if he'd thought she was grumpy with him over what they'd done in that hotel room. Since he hadn't tried anything like it since, she suspected that he'd thought she regretted it and was trying to push him away as a result.

"Can't you heal the cramps yourself?" he wanted to know.

Katara sighed, shaking her head. "I've tried. It's… uh… not wise. I can relieve some of the pain but attempting to 'heal' the underlying cause of the cramps is… messy."

Her cheeks flushed pink with embarrassment at the admission. She'd tried that just after she'd found out she could use her healing abilities, thinking it would be the perfect solution to suffering monthly cramps and aches. It hadn't gone well. Her magic worked by healing whatever the cause of pain was in the body, repairing any damage done or purging anything creating the problem.

Fortunately she'd been on the ground and by herself in her tent when she'd tried it, but that had been one of the most alarming nights of her life. In healing the cause of the pain – which was the slow stripping and shedding of her uterine wall after her ovum went unfertilised – she'd caused it all to 'heal' at once, the lining shedding at high speed and causing a gush of blood and tissue that had ruined her favourite bindings _and_ her favourite sleep pants forever.

"Girls are gross," Zuko declared, wrinkling his nose at the very idea even though he didn't have any of the specifics.

Had Sokka or Aang said the same thing Katara might've been offended, but Zuko said it in such a way that she actually laughed instead.

"Don't say that so loud. Most girls would hurt you for suggesting that idea," she chided him, turning her face and burrowing her cold nose against the side of his neck.

"I think Uncle bought some willowbark tea, if you want some?" he offered.

Katara's lips twitched and she nodded before pressing her lips to his neck affectionately, the feel of his chi sliding against hers making her more comfortable. It had been doing so all day as they rode the rhino, but she realised that their moods and their intentions affected the way their chi interacted.

"Don't start that," Zuko muttered in her ear when she nuzzled his skin lightly, feeling suddenly affectionate and snuggly with him now that some of her pain was lessened. "We don't both need to be covered in blood, Water Bender."

"Gross," Katara snorted.

"Yes, that was my point," he deadpanned in return. "You go deal with your mess. I'll make you tea."

"I may lay claim to your hands when I get back," she warned when he turned his head slightly and dropped a kiss to the middle of her forehead, apparently not even thinking about the caring gesture.

"If you'll stop snapping at me, I'll let you put my hands wherever you like," Zuko replied. "This _is_ why you've been cranky at me, right?"

Katara nodded, smiling a little bit.

"Alright. Well, next time say so," he commanded, sliding his hands back out from under her shirt and moving back a bit so he wasn't propping her up anymore. "I thought you were angry about what we did."

Katara turned to face him, tipping her head back slightly to meet his gaze when he eyed her through the rapidly growing darkness as evening fell.

"I'm not angry about that," she said quietly. "I'm _worried_ about that."

Zuko nodded, obviously in agreement that the glowing and the breathing of fire and the fact that she still had a burn mark in the shape of his hand on her lower back that didn't hurt but wasn't healing either, were something to be concerned over.

"I haven't told Uncle," Zuko admitted. "I'm not sure if he would know anything about what happened."

"He probably doesn't. I get the feeling only other people who're part of a Reiki Kizuna would know – and probably only those who are a fire and water combination. And since your uncle said that the last known bond-pair were realised more than one hundred years ago, I'm not sure there's anyone who would be able to tell us. Maybe there's a library in Ba Sing Se where we could find out more until we find Aang?"

"There's probably something about them in the Fire Sage's temples in the Fire Nation, too. I could find out when I go home," he suggested.

"Yeah," Katara nodded. "But who knows how far off that will be?"

Zuko frowned a little, eyeing her strangely for a long moment before his hands lifted to curl around her jaw. Katara squeaked in surprise when he tipped her head up to meet his lips for a soft, tentative kiss. He didn't push it, he just brushed his warm lips over hers slowly and lightly, exploring, testing the effect. Her chi seemed to quiver against his and she knew she melted into the touch, kissing back just as carefully, as though holding something fragile she was afraid to break.

When he pulled back he was frowning again, his brow furrowed in thought and his thumbs traced across her cheekbones before he let his hands drop. Katara blinked at him, hating the way she wanted to burrow into his warmth and curl up in his arms until she felt better and until the world was a better place.

She didn't know what to make of it all and she'd been worrying herself silly over what their effect on each other in the bedroom had done, wondering if it had somehow linked them forever. She didn't know nearly enough about spirit magic or about Reiki Kizuna to hazard a guess and she had no previous experience at anything sexual with another Bender so she had no point of reference for what was normal between Benders and what was something else.

Grabbing the things to make camp for the night, Zuko gave her one more of those unreadable looks before turning away and moving off to begin setting up a fire-pit at the others in their travelling party began doing the same. She was still thinking about the problem when she returned from her potty break, frowning slightly as she used her bending to create a five roomed igloo for the night.

They had found that the rhinos were best controlled when they had somewhere to be out of the snow and the wind, even if it was inside an icy dome – and that giving the beasts a large fire-pit to gather around prevented them from crowding too close to the heat of their cooking fire. They'd learned that the hard way when the Rhinos had burst through the wall of the igloo on their first night while Katara had been cooking dinner. The meal had almost been ruined because the unruly Rhinos had all tried to stand _in_ the fire-pit. They'd discovered that giving the rhinos something of a warm barn type structure to huddle in for warmth prevented such accidents. They'd also found that Iroh hadn't been kidding about his snoring and on the third night of their travels together even Meng had lost her perkiness in the middle of the night with the man's snoring, erecting an earthen wall to enclose the ice-wall Katara had made around the man just to block out some of the noise.

Zuko had found that entirely too funny, since he'd been putting up with his Uncle's snoring for years, but Katara hadn't been thrilled. When the structure for the igloo was set up – Meng not yet confident enough to make them something with her Earthbending that wouldn't crumble during the night – Katara went about making dinner. She smiled when Zuko appeared beside her mid-way through the chopping process and handed her a cup of willowbark tea.

"Thank you," she said, accepting it and smiling at the Firebender.

"Do you want to spar before dinner?" he asked her, his Uncle already in the process of furthering their combined instruction of Kuzon.

Katara pondered the idea for a moment, wondering if a bit of exercise might do her good to combat the crankiness and lethargy she was fighting.

"Alright," she nodded, setting aside the vegetables she'd been chopping, knowing she could always come back to them later. They'd all been snacking on jerky and nuts throughout the day so she doubted anyone would be overly hungry just yet anyway.

She accepted the hand up Zuko offered her, keeping hold of him as they both made their way outside into the evening. Iroh was pushing Kuzon through a basic warm-up of hot-squats and fire-fists, insisting Meng do the same. Without an Earthbending master among them, none of them could offer her proper Earth Bending instruction, but Iroh had studied many of the different Bending disciplines, so he'd been instructing her on some of the basics. Both Benders were improving, Kuzon faster than Meng, naturally, what with two Firebending masters to teach him.

While Iroh trained the two rookie Benders, Katara and Zuko moved a little further away to avoid hurting the others by accident before bowing to each other formally. Zuko smirked just a little as he straightened, his eyes still on her, before he struck the first blow. Katara dodged when he threw a rapid series of fireballs at her, pulling the snow to her to create a long water whip. She flicked it out at Zuko, wielding two at once and flicking his fireballs away with ease before striking at him, trying to hit him. He hissed at her when one of the whips curled around his ankle as he kicked an arched flame in her direction, yanking him off balance.

He shook it loose with a fire-blast and Katara smirked at him when he levelled a glare in her direction before stepping up the heat and the speed of their spar. When he evaporated her whips Katara began flinging shards of ice and ice-disks at him in rapid succession, smirking at him wickedly when she managed to hit him with a few that he wasn't fast enough to block when they came so fast and so thick. A wave of fire stopped them for a short moment before Katara decided that an up-close and personal fight might be in order. She did better fighting from a distance, she knew, but she needed practice in close combat fighting if she wanted to improve and she needed to be able to hold her own in instances where revealing herself as a Waterbender might be detrimental or dangerous.

Skating across the ice she wielded, Katara threw a series of punches and kicks at Zuko, blocking his return blows with her water whips and tentacle arms, interspersing the fight between hand-to-hand combat and Bending.

"You're going to break your wrist if you try and hit me like that again," he warned her, knocking one of her punches to the side before it could connect with his chin at a bad angle. Right at that moment she used her bending to lift him off his feet, flinging him up in the air and whipping him back toward the ground.

"It was a distraction," she smirked, having to cartwheel out of the way when he kicked fire at her on his way down. He landed tucked into a ball, rolling on impact and spinning low to get back on his feet, making her jump more fire as it arced out in her direction.

Katara slammed him with a tidal wave pulled from the melted snow around them, crashing it into him. He threw up a fire-shield but it didn't withstand the blow and he cursed when he was thrown across the clearing. He sprang up dripping wet and looking angry now. Katara flung more ice-disks at him, watching him dance as he dodged every single one while punching fire-blasts at her in rapid succession. She snarled under her breath when a few got through, scorching her training clothes and burning her skin.

When he closed the distance between them, Zuko tackled her right off her feet and they struggled, rolling and flipping across the ground, each throwing more punches and kicks, trying to get the upper hand. His superior strength found her pinned under him in the snow but before he could demand that she yield after pinning both of her wrists, she jerked her chin sideways, slamming him with another water blast that flung him off of her. Zuko came up mad as Fire-hornet, hissing and drenched, all the angrier when she froze him in place as she sprang to her feet. It didn't help for long when he breathed out hot air and the ice melted just as quickly. Just in time for Katara to throw herself at him and kick him in the stomach. He absorbed the blow by gripping her ankle and yanking her with him when he stumbled back, making her wince when the angle stretched her legs to an uncomfortable angle, twinging her hamstrings.

He jerked upwards on her leg and Katara snarled, jumping off the other foot and kicking him in the chest, back-flipping out of his hold and knocking him back another step. She nearly lost more of her hair when he flung more fire at her, trying to make her dance when he cracked the flame out like a whip. She hit him in the face with an oversized snowball without thinking and Zuko came up with a shout of fury, his eyes blazing with his sudden rage as the blow to his face triggered him.

Katara realised she was in danger, and that he'd been holding back, when he suddenly created an inferno of flames, throwing a twister of fire at her that almost pulled her up into it. She cursed, bending more and more snow around her body to protect herself and watching it all evaporate as the twister came closer. Just when she feared he might actually engulf her in flames Katara dodged around the flame and dove at him, tackling him off his feet and ceasing his control of the fire.

Zuko grunted and rolled, flipping her over his head and trying to pin her to the ground. They wrestled, scuffling in the dirt and trying to overpower each other. Katara narrowed her eyes on him when he pinned her, still too angry about the blow to the face to think rationally as he pinned her face-down in the dirt, arms trapped behind her back and one of his hands holding her head down so she couldn't bend while he straddled her lower body.

Her only defence left was her chi and Katara shoved with it, doing her best to encase his raging inferno of anger in ice. Zuko drew a shuddering breath when she squeezed harder, breathing out and managing to freeze his drenched clothing and hair stiff, preventing some of his movement.

"Zuko!" Iroh snapped. "Enough!"

Zuko wasn't listening and Katara shoved even harder with her chi, trying to bend _through_ the Firebender on top of her. He made a strange sound in the back of his throat and went suddenly limp, his hand on her head lifting as water encased it and she used it to slap his right cheek with. Not that hitting him in the face again was the best idea.

"Get off, jerk," Katara said, bucking under him when he spluttered in shock both at being slapped by his own wet hand, and by the notion that she was pushing her bending power through him enough to do it.

His hold loosened and he lifted off her enough to roll her to her back. His eyes were narrowed slightly and he aimed a fist at her, waiting for her to yield. Katara eyed him in return, annoyed that he'd managed to pin her but not ready to give up the fight just yet. Reaching for him with one hand, she offered a small smile, letting him think she was going to touch his cheek.

"Ouch!" he growled when she grabbed a fistful of his hair and yanked him sideways off of her, rolling until she pinned his wrists over his head with her hands and pinned his arms under her knees, straddling his chest.

Katara squealed when he flexed under her and jerked her up, strong enough to fling her entire body weight off him without momentum as he lifted her off.

"Well, that hardly counts as fair," she said when she found herself balanced, hands and knees supporting her body-weight while he held them up off the ground.

"I warned you that fighting in close quarters will be your undoing. You don't have the strength or the weight to win," he said, smirking at her.

Despite the fact that he was pinned under her, technically, even if she was balanced precariously on his arms, Katara knew who'd won the fight and it wasn't her. When he tipped his arms she lost her balance, toppling back to land on his stomach, straddling him once more. She was panting with the exertion of their battle and Katara leaned back against his thigh when he drew one knee up, also breathing hard.

"You're hurt," he observed, his brow furrowing when he noticed the holes he'd burned in her clothing and the burns upon her skin.

"So are you," she said, nodding toward the bruise forming on his jaw from an ice-ball and the cut on his right biceps from an ice-disk that was bleeding lightly.

Zuko glanced at the wound on his arm before shrugging as though he hadn't noticed it.

"You slapped me with my own hand. Were you just controlling the water, or were you bending through me?"

"Through you. I was too pinned to bend it with my own body," she smiled.

"No glowing this time," he observed.

"No," she agreed. "And no… erm…."

"Chi-gasm?" he smirked when her cheeks flushed pink with embarrassment, unsure how to differentiate to what felt like Bending and what felt like orgasming from their Reiki Kizuna.

"How did you _do_ that?" Meng's voice intruded before Katara could scold Zuko. "That was amazing! I don't know how the two of you can battle like that – like loathed enemies – and just as suddenly turn around and sit together all cute like you'd never even consider hurting one another."

"Control," Zuko smirked, slanting a sly grin at the Earthbender. "It's just a sparring match."

"But you were pinning her and nearly engulfed her in a flame tornado and now you're cuddling," Meng pointed out. "I don't think I could do that? I'd be too annoyed about almost dying."

"It _is_ hard to remember sometimes that I don't have to incapacitate you and fly away on Appa anymore," Katara chuckled, grinning at Zuko.

"I do spend half my time battling you looking around for the Avatar," he admitted.

"You are both injured," Iroh observed quietly, coming closer and eyeing them critically.

"I'll heal it," Katara said. "No use pulling punches when we're training for war, right?"

"Indeed," Iroh nodded. "Though I would prefer it if you didn't kill each other for the sake of practice."

They both nodded their agreement and Katara used her bending to pull some of the surrounding snow over to herself, encasing her hands and using them to heal the cut on Zuko's arm before very carefully reaching for his fac. He watched her closely, tensing slightly at the idea of having his face touched. The bruise was on the opposite side to his scar, but Katara knew he still didn't much like it when anyone touched his face. She smoothed her fingers over the bruise on his jaw, tracing his jawline carefully and feeling the way he moved his hands, resting them lightly on her thighs as she continued to straddle him.

"You've got burns, too," he pointed out when she was finished healing him.

Katara nodded, turning her attention to her own wounds without getting off the Fire Prince. If he minded, he didn't let on.

"Now, back to the lesson," Iroh said, turning away from the two of them to focus on Meng and Kuzon once more. Katara winced, realising they'd interrupted their lesson with their powerful display.

"Still sore?" Zuko asked when the others were sufficiently distracted once more, his hands sliding up her thighs and slipping under the hem of her shirt to press to her lower abdomen.

Katara hummed at the heat of his touch.

"Crazy bending and twisting like that didn't help at all," she admitted, sighing.

Zuko nodded, tracing his fingers over her flesh in a way that made her want to melt into his embrace.

"Get off," he said quietly. "We should make dinner while Uncle finishes his lesson."

Nodding, Katara sighed and got to her feet before offering Zuko a hand up. She was surprised when he took it, letting her pull him to his feet. He slung his arm around her shoulders almost casually as they both headed back inside their temporary dwelling, When she looped her arm around his waist in return he glanced down at her as though startled and Katara blinked, realising with a jolt that he'd subconsciously wrapped his arm around her and tucked her into his side as though he were begging to think she belonged there.

The idea tickled her senses and Katara smiled a little, wondering what to make of all this and what to do about everything. It was one thing to feign romance for the sake of hiding his identity. It was another to have done what they did in the hotel room and hadn't discussed since. It was yet another to be growing so comfortable with one another that standing close was becoming a subconscious habit. When Zuko met her gaze, unsmiling, his eyes searching her face for something, Katara realised something terrible.

She was falling for him. It was more than just sexual tension or mutual attraction or Reiki Kizuna. She was falling for the Prince of the Fire Nation even knowing that all too soon he was going to have to return to the capitol for the sake of regaining his crown and restoring balance to the world. The idea of falling for him, knowing it would all have to end felt a bit like standing on thin ice at the South Pole, knowing that if she stood there long enough, the ice would melt and crack right out from under her feet, plunging her into the icy depths and pain like she'd never known.

She wondered how utterly doomed she must be that even knowing it was going to hurt and going to end, she found herself stretching up on tiptoes and pressing a soft kiss to Zuko's lips, just the same.


	19. Chapter 19

**NOTE: If you're a Zutara fan looking for great recommendations, join the FB group some friends of mine put together. It's called Zutara Fireshippers. Just search it on your FB page and hit join.**

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 **A/N: Mwahahahaha!**

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 **Brightest Nights or Darkest Days**

 _By Kittenshift17_

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 **CHAPTER NINETEEN**

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Three weeks later Katara laid in bed beside Zuko, his arm thrown possessively over her waist, pressing her close to him. Beyond their encampment the moon glowed full and bright overhead and Katara's body practically sung with the power of it. She couldn't sleep despite the warmth and comfort that radiated through her Reiki Kizuna to Zuko as he slept soundly next to her. Alive with the power of her Bending and unable to sleep when her mind buzzed with conflicted thoughts and feelings, Katara rolled slightly until she could take in the sight of Zuko.

Sound asleep, his scarred face seemed peaceful – even tranquil. He was stretched on his side, one arm curled up under his head and the other looped over Katara's waist, holding her close. Shirtless despite the weather, Zuko slept deeply. In the five weeks they'd been travelling together, she'd seen many sides of the Fire Nation Prince, including the side that fought nightmares in the dead of night. More than once he'd woken her up with a shout of pain or fury when he sat bolt upright in bed.

Today he seemed peaceful, tired from the long days spent travelling as they made slow headway toward Ba Sing Se. They were almost there, she knew. They'd stopped last week at a small tavern and Iroh had engaged a man in a game of Pi Shoh that had led them all to being informed about the Order of the White Lotus. With the help of the White Lotus people they'd all been given passports for the Earth Kingdom, claiming they were refugees from Omashu on their way to Ba Sing Se for a fresh start.

The story didn't matter very much to Katara. What mattered were the changes she'd been going though, and those she'd seen in Zuko. She wondered if Aang and Sokka were changing too. She wondered if they were even still alive. She had been hoping against hope that they'd run into them on the road. She'd hoped she might catch sight of Appa flying overhead, and when they travelled by day - her and Zuko crammed into the saddle aboard their Komodo-Rhino - she spent half her time with her head tipped back and resting against Zuko's shoulder, watching the skies for some sign of the sky bison and her friends.

She ached with missing them. A strange sort of throb under her breastbone, it persisted no matter how much Iroh might make her laugh with his silly jokes; or how it amused her when Zuko made faces at her during Iroh's jokes, or when he made faces while Meng was babbling, or made more faces when Kuzon and Meng were being inappropriate and forgot to erect a second wall to block out the sound of their love-making. She missed Sokka's stupid jokes and constant sarcasm. She missed his complaints about being hungry and craving meat, and his frequent attempts to persuade Aang that eating meat was the best way to live.

She missed his smelly socks and his bad mood and his annoying habits. She missed Aang, too. She missed his constant naivety and his silliness and his ever-persistent curiosity about the world around him. She missed Appa's groans and grunts when they talked to him or when he was sick of flying or wanted his belly rubbed. She missed Momo's constant chatter and the way he'd perch on whoever might be the most likely to feed him.

She ached with missing them all and she wanted to find them more than anything. But by the same token, she'd begun to appreciate her new friends too. Iroh was funny and wise, offering advice when it was needed, anecdotes and stories that helped pass the time, and silly things to say when things looked grim and everyone was cranky. She'd found that Kuzon seemed an amalgamation of Sokka, Aang, and Zuko, all in one. He was easily riled liked Zuko, curious like Aang, and as sarcastic as Sokka, often poking fun at his girlfriend while she babbled and at Zuko when he got into a mood.

Even Meng had grown on her. Katara had almost forgotten when it was like to associate with other girls and it was nice, sometimes, to have a break from boys and their antics. Though she was infuriatingly perky and chatty to the point of frustrating, Meng was also incredibly nice, reminding Katara of Aang with her chattiness and her naivety and her habit of getting herself into trouble when she decided to try something that wasn't entirely safe.

And then there was Zuko.

Katara sighed softly, reaching with careful fingers to brush the hair out of his eyes as he slept on, unaware of her scrutiny. Zuko was… in a word… difficult. He was sensitive and cranky and sarcastic and witty and dangerous all at the same time. He could be playful and laughing one moment and positively furious the next. Worse, he had developed a habit of pulling her into his personal space or of invading hers without thought, subconsciously gravitating to her despite their opposing elements and conflicting personalities and their propensity to fight and argue over stupid things.

She spent entirely too much time kissing him when she knew she shouldn't, and she was more convinced than ever than the Universe was trying to intercede on them doing anything more than that. Every time things got out of hand toward being steamy something happened to interrupt them. They'd be ambushed by thieves in the night, or the Rhinos would begin to fight, or Meng and Kuzon would start going at it first, completely alienating everyone else, or Iroh would show up with a pot of tea.

Despite crawling into bed beside the Firebender every night, and despite spending almost all day in the saddle aboard the rhino with him, they had been tame and even tentative in the way they interacted and touched one another. Katara knew it stemmed from a concern over what would happen when they had to split up so he could return to the capitol while she returned to Aang's side to continue his training and to gather an invasion force.

It had been preying on her mind for weeks now, since the night in the hotel room, and Katara didn't know what to do about it. She knew that she was more than passingly fond of the prince. She was well and truly intrigued by him and half the time she fancied herself in love with him, while the rest she cursed his name and his existence because he was the moodiest boy she'd ever met. He got on her every nerve and when she wasn't thinking about how best to maim him, she was thinking about climbing into his lap and kissing him until she couldn't see straight.

Admiring his features by the glow of the moon as he slept, Katara felt a painful twist inside her chest. Even with the scar marring his left eye, he was unerringly handsome. She liked it best when he smiled, though it was rare, and she liked to watch him when he spoke about things just to watch expressions form on his face. She liked to breathe in the unique scent of his skin, spicy and smoky and somehow zesty all at once. She liked the feel of his embrace around her, too. She'd spent many an evening leaning against him inside their igloos as they travelled, his hands tracing patterns over her stomach and playing with her fingers – so rarely idle that it made her smile.

She liked that he was a fidget except when he was angry, often drumming his fingers on things, drawing patterns on her skin when he could touch her, or playing with her hair when she let him. She liked that he played with his fire, flicking it across his fingers like she might fidget with a rock or her necklace. She even liked the habit he'd developed of sneaking up behind her and pressing his lips to the side of her neck while she was distracted making dinner or working on her Bending, or trying to listen to Meng or Iroh or Kuzon when they talked. Most of all she liked that for all that he did those things, he was careful with her, too.

He never pushed his luck too far if she was stroppy and he never made her feel like all he wanted from her was that she spread her legs and make him dinner when he was done. She liked that he seemed to genuinely value her opinion. He didn't often speak unless he was making a sardonic comment or offering bemused commentary on their progress, but when he did engage her in conversation it was often insightful.

As she laid there next to him in the dark igloo, the gleam of the fire in the fire-pit of the main room beyond their sleeping room illuminating his features, Katara smiled slowly. He was her friend, she realised. Perhaps her closest friend. For all that she'd been close with Sokka all her life, and that she adored Aang like he were her little brother, she'd never had many friends back in the village and it wasn't easy to make or keep friendships when you spent your life flying around in the saddle of a sky bison.

Zuko was perhaps her best friend and the thought both pleased and terrified her. He was entirely hers in that she didn't have to share him with Aang or Sokka. He was someone she could gripe at about her cramps or her frustrations with Meng or with riding on the rhinos or the war or just about anything else and he listened without trying to immediately find a way to fix the problem the way Sokka and Aang both did. He made her laugh at the most inopportune of moments and for all that he called her an ally or a potential lover or just about anything other than a friend, Katara knew he valued and enjoyed her company.

Mostly because he was a rude and arrogant jerk who wouldn't hesitate to tell her if he thought otherwise. She adored playing games with him. They could while away hours aboard the rhinos taking turns saying what they would do when the war ended, or what they'd have done if there wasn't a war, or speculating on how things might change when the war was over. She liked lobbing snowballs at him or pinching his food when he was in a strop. She liked that he pulled her pig-tails right back. He might've singed off her hair-loops, but he wasn't above literally pulling her hair if she was being irrationally grumpy about something.

It felt strange to Katara. She'd never really known anyone else like him. Certainly Sokka provoked her when she was in a mood, and supported her when she needed it and even watched out for her wellbeing. But that was his job as her big brother. Aang, too, had been more concerned with the world around him and with where they were going and the burden of the world as it rested upon his shoulders. Admittedly, the weight of the Fire Nation and the judgment of the rest of the world weighed heavily on Zuko's shoulders too, but Katara found she liked that. For all that he could play with her sometimes, he was only too willing to martyr himself for the sake of the world.

As she traced his features with her eyes while he slept, Katara realised that not only was she falling for him, but she was also terribly fond of him as her very best friend. It was going to be trouble down the line, she knew. Maybe it would be a comfort to him when he returned to the capitol, surrounded by enemies. But for Katara, it was like an impending tidal wave in the distance, gathering momentum and power, just waiting to crash over her with all the rage and devastation the ocean could unleash. And as though it were really a wave, the Waterbender in her both awaited its crest and its crash over her, while fearing it just a bit, too. But this time she would have no control because it wasn't a wave and so her bending would be useless unless she could figure out how to heal a broken heart.

Sighing softly and knowing she wouldn't get any sleep with the moon full and her mind whirring, Katara slipped out of Zuko's hold and stretched languidly, feeling her bending power sing in her blood. She crept out of the igloo and into the night, sighing at the sweet caress of the moon when it kissed her skin. The nearby stream gurgling merrily in the dark drew her like a moth to a flame and before she knew it she'd waded to her waist into the cold water, feeling her power surge and the irresistible urge to Bend crash over her again.

 **~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~**

General Iroh of the Fire Nation woke slowly to the sound of the occasional giggle followed by sloshing sounds. Ordinarily he'd have put his pillow over his head, suspecting the giggle belonged to Meng and that she and Kuzon were up to mischief again. But this time the giggle sounded different and the accompanying sound of rushing water drew Iroh's attention to the fact that it was a full moon.

Smiling a little to himself, he crawled out of his warm bed, intent on checking on the little Water Tribe woman who'd so wormed her way under his nephew's skin. Iroh liked Katara. She was blunt and nothing like the prim, prissy, predatory princesses that Zuko had been surrounded by in the palace. She was unwaveringly kind; even when she lost her temper she was the most selfless and sweetest person Iroh had ever met. She didn't think twice about offering assistance to anyone who needed it and she had a habit of mothering everyone she met, even him.

That amused him perhaps the most. He'd been accustomed to being waited on as the Crown Prince of the Fire Nation before Ozai's betrayal, and even aboard Zuko's ship, he'd had servants at his beck and call. Living as a fugitive had been an adjustment for him and for Zuko, and it was nice to be waited on every now and then. He especially liked that even though Katara went out of her way to mother everyone, she did it in a way that made it _feel_ like mothering and like she cared, rather than like it was her profession.

She'd happily fix them all dinner, but she'd also nag about there not being enough firewood, or about them not doing the dishes, or not picking up after themselves. She cared in a way that Iroh hadn't really been used to before and he knew that Zuko was enthralled by the sweet Waterbender.

He slipped out into the darkness, the moonlight overhead bathing everything in silver and illuminating the Waterbender where she was waist deep in the river, playing with the water and practicing her bending in such a way that Iroh chuckled to himself. She was having fun, revelling in the power of the moon and he couldn't help but settle down on a nearby rock to watch her simply to study the art of Waterbending.

He hadn't been watching for long when he felt someone approach him from behind.

"Uncle?" Zuko asked, sounding sleepy.

"Hello, nephew," Iroh murmured, patting the rock beside him and waiting for the boy to take a seat. He was underdressed for blizzard weather, having ventured out in only his sleep-pants and a sleeveless shirt. Iroh didn't bother chiding him for it, knowing that much like he did himself, Zuko was probably feeling a strange warmth from the moon as it glowed overhead.

Zuko was silent as he settled himself on the rock beside Iroh, his eyes fixed on the Waterbender playing in the river.

"She is beautiful," Iroh observed quietly, watching Zuko out the corner of his eyes and smiling to himself when Zuko nodded in agreement.

"I forgot that the full moon would make her restless," Zuko murmured. "I got worried when I woke and she was gone."

The admission warmed Iroh's heart immensely.

"You care for her," he said.

Zuko sighed, lowering his face into his hands even as he nodded.

"I don't know what to do, Uncle," Zuko admitted quietly. "When I return to the palace…."

"She will be far away, putting herself in danger, fighting alongside the Avatar, beyond your reach," Iroh nodded. "And you will miss her."

Zuko nodded again. "I… this Reiki Kizuna is complicated, Uncle. Half the time I want to kill her and the rest I want to… emulate Meng and Kuzon."

Iroh chuckled.

"It is natural to be attracted to a beautiful girl, my nephew," Iroh said wisely. "It's not something to be embarrassed over."

"I'm not embarrassed," Zuko grunted. "I'm concerned. I want her, Uncle. And I know that if I let myself get too close, it will hurt when we have to separate for the sake of my task. And what then? We win the war from different parts of the world, if we're lucky, and then I'll be Fire Lord."

"And the Fire Nation wouldn't take lightly to a Waterbender for their Fire Lady," Iroh chuckled. "The risk of you and her siring children who would be Waterbenders instead of Firebenders would be too much a risk for the advisors and the government to tolerate. A Waterbender as the next Fire Lord, imagine."

Zuko snorted.

"I hadn't thought _that_ far ahead, Uncle," he scoffed quietly. "I only meant that I'll be Fire Lord. I'll be bound to the capitol when I'm not meeting with delegations from the other Nations to smooth the way to peace. You know it won't be as easy as just being crowned and winning the war. Removing the Fire Nation soldiers from the Earth Kingdom will be hard enough. Some of the colonials have been in the Earth Kingdom for generations! There will be a million things to do to ensure the honour of the Fire Nation is restored without rolling over and letting the other Nations at our underbellies."

"Indeed," Iroh nodded. "And Katara will be busy with her people, rebuilding the Water Tribe cities in the South and putting her culture and her people back to rights. It will be a long and arduous journey, and the world will fight tooth and nail to resist our attempts to fix it."

"Yeah," Zuko grumbled. "And with all of that going on, what am I supposed to do with this… this…"

He flicked a hand in Katara's direction while the girl amused herself making octopus arms out of the water, completely submerged as she played by herself.

"The attraction? Or the fact that you will miss her every day you are apart?" Iroh asked gently, having seen the friendship that had developed between Zuko and Katara. They might be wildly attracted to one another, but they were also growing close as Iroh had never seen Zuko do with anyone.

"Both," Zuko huffed, sounding frustrated. "We… back at that hotel… we…."

"You had sex with her?" Iroh raised his eyebrows, shocked to hear it. He knew they might've been kissing on their travels since then, but as far as he knew they hadn't moved beyond that whilst on the road.

"No," Zuko shook his head. "At least not… fully. But it did something to the bond between the two of us. She breathed fire, Uncle. And when she… well, my whole body lit up with the blue of her healing magic."

"You think you might've somehow sealed the bond between you and that being away from her will be impossible?" Iroh asked, frowning. "I warned you about that."

"I know," Zuko sighed. "And I told her that too, but we… got a little carried away. I don't know what to do, Uncle. Do I throw caution to the wind and let things happen now, even knowing that when I leave it might kill us both? Or do I hold off and hope that someday things will play out as they might've if not for the war? We have a Reiki Kizuna. Does that mean, no matter the forces that try to keep us apart, we'll find a way? Or does it just mean that if we focus, we can do some neat Bending tricks together?"

Iroh shook his head gently. "I don't know, Zuko," he admitted. "I know little of the Reiki Kizuna beyond its potential as a weapon. I don't know if they are bonds that can be sealed, or simply harnessed."

Zuko made a soft sound of frustration, his gaze straying back to the Waterbender playing in the river. Iroh watched the boy by the glow of the moon for a long time as Zuko watched the waterbender. They were a different as night and day – as fire and water – as the sun and the moon. Yet there were some similarities, too. They seemed well-matched in Iroh's opinion, though he could admit to a little bias due to the novel and pleasing idea it was that his surly, angry, rage-filled nephew had found someone who overlooked his cutting words and his cruelty and his scar and even his heritage for the sake of seeing the boy he was – the man he was becoming.

When he peered through the darkness at Katara, Iroh noticed that while she was not traditionally beautiful by Fire Nation standards, she was truly breathtaking beneath the glow of the full moon. He noticed that she was strong and supple, her body deeply feminine despite her strength. She complimented Zuko well and Iroh had little trouble one day imagining her dressed in fancy clothing of the deepest blue, on the arm of Zuko as Fire Lord, the perfectly contrasted Southern Ware Tribe Princess escorted by the Fire Nation Prince. Their Reiki Kizuna alone ought to be enough – or would've been, in the past – to overlook their differing peoples and cultures. In the histories he'd read, those who shared such a spirit bond often were accepted by the peoples of each party, almost as though the joined was merely an extension of the other.

In times past – before Sozin's Comet - Katara would've been accepted wholeheartedly by the Fire Nation as a bride for their young prince simply because the bond she shared with Zuko. Theirs was a sacred bond, sought out the world over for the sake of furthering cooperation between the four nations and the power it granted them both. To have such a Spirit Bond occur in a member of the royal family would've been cause for celebration the world over.

Now, however, the idea of their already banished and shamed prince returning with a woman on his arm who wasn't Fire Nation would likely be considered an act of treason in Ozai's eyes. What was worse was that their plan to end the war came at the price of putting all the most powerful people in the Fire Nation out of a job. Career soldiers who were suddenly hauled home and told there would be no more fighting would surely not take well to the man responsible for rendering their sacrifices and their achievements worthless.

One of the biggest challenges they would face in ending the war came not only from the other Nations and their continued resentment and hatred of the Fire Nation, but from within their very own people. Men of the Fire Nation lived and breathed war. They aspired to be soldiers who would bring honour upon their families – who would work their way up through the ranks to become famed Admirals or General, commanding legions. Ozai surrounded himself with such people. The capitol and the Fire Court were full of brutal and cruel leaders. One hundred years of war had made it their specialty and they would not relinquish their titles or their positions lightly. Even if they locked up all the bad-eggs, there would be repercussions from the rest of the Fire Nation.

The peasants might care little for whose arse sat on the throne and which Nation they conquered next, but those with the money and the power cared a great deal. To be stripped of their leaders would hit them hard and Zuko would need every political alliance he could form for the sake keeping his crown and not being assassinated in his bed. And they would not come so easily if he brought home some Waterbender from a defeated nation of peasants who struggled to survive – especially one whose father was a War Chief, leading a naval fleet of Resistance warriors.

The logical, driven part of Iroh that wanted to see his brother pay for his treachery and wanted to see an end to this war yearned to warn Zuko away from Katara – to point out that to continue anything with her would paint her a target for assassination as surely as it would Zuko. That part of him wanted to make a point of the sacrifices Zuko must make for his crown and for the very world.

The scheming part of him wanted to suggest that they wait. That they hold off on what might one day be a fantastic tale of love until such time that Zuko was established as Fire Lord and the world needed the political alliance a marriage of their two nations would provide. He wanted to tell the boy he thought of like his very own son that he needed to be smart and that he needed to protect Katara as much as himself, that their love could wait until everything else was handled and there was time to worry about the drama of their conflicting nations opposing their match.

Yet the peaceful father at his core couldn't resist the sight of seeing the boy finally beginning to show hints of happiness in an otherwise angry and bitter existence. He wanted to encourage them and tell them that nothing could hold them back and that they might be perfect for one another. That part of him even wanted to say to hell with the war and the throne. He wanted to suggest that they forget the Avatar, the Fire Court, Zuko's birthright and even his own revenge. He wanted to suggest they find a little tea-shop somewhere in Ba Sing Se and just blend in, make a new life and be happy in their love for one another that would surely grow if given permission and just a little chance. The part of Iroh that had longed to see Zuko happy rather than so angry with the world wanted to forget about plans to overthrow Ozai and to save the world from more war. It just wanted to watch the young pair become couple, fall in love, marry, and have enough grandchildren that they'd need a whole palace just to house them all. He liked the idea of being a grandfather to them all, no matter that Zuko was his nephew rather than his son.

"My nephew," he said quietly, resting his hand upon Zuko's bare shoulder and feeling the power within the muscle there – so different from the bony and fragile-seeming boy he'd been when Iroh had hustled him out of the palace, still injured, after his banishment.

Zuko tore his eyes away from Katara with difficulty and Iroh could see the confliction and the worry swirling within them as he met the boy's gaze.

"While it might not be my place to tell you how to live your life or what you should do, especially what you should do with a pretty girl, I'd like to offer my wisdom, if you'll allow me?" Iroh said, not entirely sure he wanted to offer his wisdom at all without first letting the boy decide if he wanted his council. Too many times before Zuko had chosen to do the exact opposite of what he suggested, ever spiteful and surly in his inexperience and his youth.

"I trust your judgement above all others, Uncle," Zuko answered formally, apparently realising the gravity of what Iroh planned to say.

Iroh smiled gently, pleased not only to know that the boy was finally ready to listen to him and take his advice on board, but also to know that he was maturing so well – growing from a petulant boy to a capable and cunning man.

"She is beautiful and she is powerful, Zuko," Iroh said, glancing at Katara again when she giggled in the river, skating across the ice-waves she'd created to amuse herself. "She is a gifted Waterbender and she has the kindest heart of any woman I have ever met. In the weeks we have travelled together since you found me, I have witnessed your prickly interactions shift toward friendship and affection. I don't need to tell you, I think, that you have been without friends who aren't your dear old uncle since your banishment. Even before it, at the Fire Court, you were always kept separate from the other children to an extent. My Lu Ten was older than you and Azula was always a wretched little brat intent on upsetting you at every opportunity. Katara is valuable to you because in her I see a similar discovery of having a real friend. One close in age and maturity who isn't her brother of the Avatar.

"There is affection and laughter between you and I have seen you smile and laugh more often in her presence than I have seen you do in the five long years since your banishment, my nephew. It warms my heart to see you still remember _how_ to laugh," Iroh teased gently and Zuko flashed him a wicked little smirk that, in the past, meant he was about to do or say something cruel. Iroh rushed to continue before the boy could butt in. "Whether the attraction between you could grow into something deeper, perhaps even love, is a mystery to us all. You have your similarities and a whole collection of differences, you and Katara. You also bicker and fight worse than loathed siblings, at times, much to my amusement."

Zuko's lips twitched on a grin as he darted a glance at Katara, obviously knowing it was true and confirming Iroh's suspicions that Zuko _liked_ bickering and picking fights with the girl _because_ she didn't hold back or guard her tongue just because he was a prince.

"I believe, given the time and the right circumstances, the two of you could go on to share a love so profound that the minstrels and playwrights would forevermore tell tales of the Fire Lord and his Waterbending bride," Iroh smiled fondly at the very idea. "But this is not a perfect world where two souls can simply meet and rush off into the sunset and some happily ever after. You are the crown prince of the Fire Nation, Zuko. You must worm you way back into your father's good graces before he can coronate you sister, and you must sway those at court to favour you if you wish to reclaim your throne. They will _not_ take kindly to a waterbender in their midst, let alone in your bed or on your arm, my nephew. You might not yet be entertaining the notion, but one day it will be your responsibility to carry on the royal bloodline and the current climate within the Fire Court will not smile on a Waterbending peasant as the mother of your children. Daughter of the Chieftain leading the Southern Water Tribe warriors against the Fire Nation's troops, personal friend of the Avatar, and a powerful force to be reckoned with herself, she is _not_ the Court's current idea of a proper Fire Lady."

"No," Zuko admitted bitterly. "They'd prefer some pretty, simpering idiot like Ty Lee, or the prim and proper snark of Mai."

"Currently, yes," Iroh said. "There is also the fact that you plan to overthrow your father with the help of the Avatar and restore balance to the world, Zuko. A balance that will end the war. Do you imagine that the career soldiers of the capitol who've built their lives around this war will take kindly to its end? That they will quietly come home and become cabbage farmers rather than fierce warriors?"

"No," Zuko bit out, looking unhappy about it.

"No, indeed. They will fight the ordinance. And for a time they will win because the world will not be so ready to forgive our Nation all that we have done. One hundred years of war will breed chaos and there will come a time when our protection will rely on those same soldiers you want to call home. No matter the peace treaties we might negotiate, there will always be resistance. Those among the court and the army who know nothing else but war and want to conquer the world under one fiery banner will fight you on it. Some may even attempt to assassinate you, nephew. While there might one day come a day when it will look good to the world and to the idea of international cooperation to have you marry a non-Fire Nation citizen such as Katara, that future is a long way off. First we have to defeat Ozai and then we must expunge his loyal subjects _and_ hold off the angry mobs who keep calling for Fire Nation blood and who will attack our turned backs as we march out armies from their lands.

"There will also be those among the court and the Fire Nation who will oppose your rule and oppose the idea of peace. We have been taught our whole lives that peace is for the weak and will only be achieved when we conquer all. Men and women of the Fire Nation have lived and breathed war since their birth, many right up until they die on someone else's spear in battle, Zuko. Those who have lost loved ones, those who have been displaced from their homes, those who are still hurting and those who know nothing else will fight against the idea of peace and prosperity. You will have a Nation to rebuild from within, years of values and morals to change, an entire collection of history books that paint us in a favourable light and paint the Earth Kingdom and the Water Tribes as little more than grubby peasants."

Zuko sighed heavily, as though the fight ahead of him was tiresome even to think about.

"Ours is not an easy path, my nephew. And bringing Katara to Court, even after we win – _if_ we win – would be dangerous. Dangerous for you, when your position upon the throne would still be rocky and constantly threatened. Dangerous for her, too. If your enemies believed they could hurt you and return to a life of war by killing her, they would do so. Her very own people might disown her for falling into bed with a Fire Nation prince. You have witnessed since your banishment that the rest of the world hates the Fire Nation for all we have done. Katara's relationship with you – friendship or otherwise – will be called into question. Her honour will be questioned, too. She will have to defend against claims of being a traitor, claims of being little more than a Fire Nation whore."

Zuko's eyes narrowed dangerously at the word and Iroh held up a hand.

"You know I would never think such things, but the world is unkind, Zuko. In particular, men of the Northern Water Tribe are very misogynistic. They believe that a woman's place is in the home, mending their clothes, making their supper and caring for their children. The Northern women are not permitted to train in combat – waterbenders or nonbenders. They are traded like objects for political alliance, their fates decided by the men in their lives. I know little of Chief Hakoda of the Water Tribe, but I know that he comes from a people who believe girls like Katara should be protected and kept safe at home, raising the young, rather than in the thick of the fighting. She will face many trials of her own when she returns home and when this war is done. It has always been the place of a Water Tribe girl's father or brothers to arrange her marriage, usually without the young woman's consultation, and while Hakoda might not be that way, there are many who will frown on her for being a warrior and who will openly disparage her should she choose a love-match not sanctioned by her father – especially one with the Fire Nation."

Zuko's scowl was fierce now.

"Their women aren't allowed to fight?" he asked coldly. "They just submit to their father's orders and marry those they loathe because they're told, without their consent?"

Iroh nodded.

"No wonder we went to war with them," Zuko muttered unkindly, looking back toward Katara. "No woman should have her fate decided without her input or her consent, Uncle."

"I agree," Iroh said quietly. "And I hope that one day Katara will not submit to such a fate. But I think you are beginning to see the problems the two of you will face should things carry on between you. Be friends with her by all means, my nephew. I know all too well that we can rarely control whom it is we develop feelings for, and she is better than most women, my nephew. You have found a very special young woman and I would like to think that one day you will defeat the odds and come together in whatever way you see fit. But perhaps, for the time being, it would be in the best interests of you both to refrain from falling in love. It will only end in pain and it will only hand our enemies a means through which to strike at you."

Zuko's brow furrowed.

"You're telling me to forget her?" he asked, looking away from the girl and over to meet his gaze. "She's integral to our plan to overthrow my Father."

"She is," Iroh nodded. "And she will be unforgettable. I think that even if the two of you parted ways this minute and never spoke again, you would still think of her upon your death bed in your old age, my nephew. I am not suggesting that you forget her, or even that you don't pursue her. I am simply trying to arm you with all the information that will help you choose, and suggesting that it's my humble opinion that waiting would be in the best interest of you both."

"I thought you lived by the philosophy that one never knows when his number will be up, and so should embrace every moment like it were his last. Isn't that why you've dragged me to silly sights all over the world, insisting that passing up an opportunity to see the world would be a mistake we'd regret should we die tomorrow? Now you're telling me to practice caution and to resist what I want?" Zuko asked, frowning.

"Yes," Iroh sighed. "For a short time longer she is yours, Zuko, if you want her. But she will be a liability and she will get you killed should this persist and be _known_ when you return to the Fire Court and take your throne. What will you do if you've a part to play to take down Ozai and she arrives at the palace, pregnant with your unborn child?"

"She drinks moon tea every day, Uncle," Zuko pointed out.

"She does. But it is not always a safeguard, Zuko. You're both too young and you both have too much to lose to risk the fruition of passionate love," Iroh said. "Just…. Don't end up like me, my nephew."

Zuko's mouth – opened and poised to argue – snapped closed at the pain that laced that last, desperate plea. Iroh's heart twisted inside his chest.

"You have seen, firsthand, the result of a foolish crown prince who risked his crown for a pretty girl who wasn't someone the Fire Nation called their own," Iroh whispered and his eyes stung with tears as he thought of Lu Ten's mother. "Once upon a time, my nephew, I was young and cocky and I met a girl more beautiful than the moon. I chased her and I caught her and I got her pregnant. I brought her back to the palace with me and she gave birth to my son, Lu Ten. Tell me, Zuko, where are they now?"

Zuko's mouth twisted, obviously not wanting to hurt him with the answer.

"Dead."

Iroh nodded.

"Yes, they're both dead. Pema was a pretty Earth Kingdom girl I met when visiting the Fire Nation colonies in the Earth Kingdom and I brought her home. I saw some of my father's respect for me as a fine young general die in his eyes when I introduced Pema to him, Zuko. I saw the way he eyed her not as a welcomed daughter-in-law carrying his first grandchild, but as little more than a vessel with which to overthrow the Earth Kingdom. Her people branded her for a traitor, you know? Azulon used his charm and his cunning while she was pregnant and I was off at war to talk her into being the example of what good Earth Kingdom girls could aspire to if they would just embrace the Fire Nation. She had my Lu Ten and she was paraded before the court and before the world as an example of our generosity, our prosperity, our virility."

A tear slipped from the corner of his eyes as Iroh clenched both his fists and his teeth on the pain that still lanced through him at the thought of what had befallen his beloved.

"She was killed by the Earth Kingdom Resistance at a rally in the colonies when your cousin was three years old," Iroh choked out brokenly, another tear escaping his eyes. "She was there smiling and waving, showing off our son and showing that if she could be so happy amid the Fire Court then surely the Fire Nation wasn't as bad as the world painted us. An Earth Kingdom Resistance unit ambushed the rally and screamed about how women who laid down with Fire Nation men were worthless whores, about how they were traitors to their own people, about how they were beyond reprehension and deserved to be 'rescued' their cruel fate."

Zuko's eyes were fixed upon his face as more tears fell and Iroh met the boy's gaze sadly.

"They made an example of her on the dais in the middle of the square. They hauled her up by her hair, heedless of her screams, and they slit her throat while they screamed about how liberated she'd been as they 'freed' her from the shame and the humiliation of being brainwashed by the Fire Nation," Iroh whispered. "And when I went to my father, furious and delirious with the pain of losing my wife, do you know what he did?"

"Nothing?" Zuko guessed.

Iroh shook his head. "He encouraged me to share my pain with the world. He pushed me and drove me to unleash my fury upon the Earth Kingdom and the Resistance."

Zuko was shaking his head. "How can you not hate them, Uncle?"

Iroh coughed a little. "How do you think I drove my armies all the way to the gates of Ba Sing Se and almost brought their last stronghold to her knees?"

Zuko's bloodthirsty grin would've pleased the man he'd been then.

"I embraced my pain and my fury. I lavished my son with attention and love and I promised him every day that I would avenge his mother until the Earth Kingdom had fallen. The day…" he choked up, then. His teeth grinding together on the fire that boiled through his blood whenever he thought of the ill fate that had befallen his son. Zuko's grip upon his shoulder was tight and reassuring and Iroh's heart clenched at the knowledge that he wasn't alone.

"The day Lu Ten was killed in battle, I was battering down the gates of the Palace in Ba Sing Se, my nephew. I was ready to mount the Earth King's head upon a spike over the palace gates and hang the Fire Nation banner there, for all to see. I was excited – had even summoned Lu Ten to join me, wanting him there to see the downfall of those I'd believed responsible for his mother's death. He was even in the city, you know? He was almost at my side and he was killed in the street by a young boy whose father had died during my siege. His death was not swift, as his mother's had been. Nor was it some example to all of the Earth Kingdom's strength. He was repeatedly stabbed with a dagger in an alley, having been lured there by that young boy with news that some of his unit were wounded there.

"I received the news at the same time that I received his body right there at the gates, Zuko. They brought his body to my tent when we paused the siege for the night, believing that with the dawn would come our victory." Iroh took a deep, mournful breath, his hands trembling as he fought the urge to sob now as he had done then. "My admirals thought that though I would be hurt, it would renew my desire to conquer the city. But when I learned what had happened to my boy… when I learned his death had been the result of a child avenging his father, all I could think about was how many father's I had robbed young boys of. How many mother's I had cost their sons. How many sisters and wives whose brothers and husbands had died by my fire or my blade and I thought of the pain I'd felt when I'd lost Pema and all I could do was cry. I had let my anger and my pain control me, Zuko. I had let it burn a fiery path of destruction from the gates of the Fire Palace to the gates of the Earth Palace and everything in between had been incinerated.

"I had caused my own pain and fury to sink into the hearts of all who loved anyone lost before my army. Like a brand new bender new to his flame and lacking control, I had let the fire get away from me and it had transformed everything I knew into something ugly and unrecognisable. It had destroyed the things that I loved just as surely as it destroyed my enemies. And I just… couldn't go on. I pulled my army back from the city – evacuated them out of Ba Sing Se overnight and marched them all home to be with their mothers. I took my Lu Ten home to bury him and I learned while I was travelling there, what had become of Azulon and I learned of Ozai's treachery. I learned what had become of your mother and I realised that in my quest for revenge, I had lost everything that mattered to me. My wife was gone. My son was gone. My father was gone. My brother had betrayed me and proved himself a monster who'd been willing to kill _his_ own son just to steal my throne. Only your mother's intervention saved you, my nephew, and only you remained that still mattered to me.

"My prestige as a War General was despoiled by my weakness and my pain. My throne usurped, my crown stolen, my loved ones dead and my brother, a murderous traitor," Iroh shook his head. "I confess that for a while after that I simply wallowed in my pain and my bitterness. I drank too much and I sought solace between the legs of every woman within a five mile radius of the palace. I was content to fade from memory and to turn my own destructive nature upon myself until there was nothing left, right up until a war meeting when my young and naïve nephew spoke out of turn, exclaiming over the horror of sending untrained boys to die as cannon fodder, betrayed by their Nation."

Zuko's eyes were fixed on him, his brow deeply furrowed, his mouth frowning heavily.

"You were so young," Iroh shook his head, lifting a careful hand to rest against Zuko's scarred cheek, surprised when the boy didn't flinch back or pull away – never liking to be touched there. "So innocent and so _outraged_. Your father heard only innocence and felt only embarrassment and fury that you could be so human to recognize green recruits as people and not pawns. The other generals heard only the whine of a child, too young and too innocent to understand the tactics of war. I heard myself as a boy, before my bitterness and loss. Before my fiery rise and fall from grace. I heard Pema, that bright happy voice crying out in outrage at the ill treatment of anyone, Fire Nation or Earth Kingdom or Water Tribe citizen, alike. I heard Lu Ten, his impassioned pledges to protect his country and lead his men with honour and dignity. And I heard _you_ , Zuko. Just a boy who still thought of people as people, not as peasants or nobles, not as us and them, not even as soldiers, really. To you in that moment they were boys just like you, brave and willing to fight for their Nation. In that moment you embodied our entire Nation and the outrage they should and _would_ feel to know that their Fire Lord didn't care about them, that he would use them as nothing but fresh meat to distract the dogs of war."

Zuko nodded, brow still furrowed.

"You gave me hope, nephew. In a time when I'd lost all hope and stopped caring about anything except how best to end my own existence," Iroh confessed quietly, tracing his thumb along the outline of Zuko's scar and staring into his nephew's eyes. "Like the sun rising over the horizon at the end of a dark and scary night, you were suddenly there, shining bright. The hope of the world – a boy in line for the thrown without a taste for blood and without a yearning to crush his enemies like bugs underfoot. And when your Father pushed you, playing with you like a cat with a mouse and you fell into his trap and into his challenge for Agni Kai, I hoped against hope that he would be merciful. I'd forgotten, by then, that he'd been willing to kill you for his crown and that he thought you nothing but an embarrassment who refused to learn to be as ruthless as himself or your sister. Had I known he planned to fight you himself, I'd have smuggled you out of the palace before you could face him, no matter your protests."

"You got me out of there before he could do more than burn my face," Zuko said quietly.

"I did," Iroh nodded. "And I had to break the news to this bright spark of a prince that his father didn't want him. I had to watch you fizzle, a spark in a thunderstorm, drenched and extinguished as rage and pain overtook you, just as it had overtaken me when I lost Pema. I have feared for you, my nephew. Our quest for the Avatar seemed hopeless and I prayed that any distraction would help to deter you from your wish to return home – that you might see, eventually, that Ozai would not accept you back, for if he'd planned on it he'd not have charged you with so ridiculous a task – and I wondered if you would ever realise that your honour was not his to take, for he had sacrificed his own so long ago."

"And I was a whiny jerk about it for five years," Zuko said bitterly, looking away, frowning even more.

"You were," Iroh chuckled. "A dirk-tongued, cruel, whiny, petulant brat who spoke to others with such hatred and cruelty that I was hard-pressed to keep from smacking you silly myself many a day."

"Enjoyed your separation from me a little, didn't you?" Zuko chuckled darkly, once again showing his growing maturity when he laughed over the insults, rather than immediately growing offended and flying into a fiery rage.

"No," Iroh said quietly. "I worried every day that the bright and shining hope for the world you still could be would be buried under layers of snow even deeper than it was buried under anger and pain and betrayal. I feared I would find you bloodied, thirsty for violence and death when you learned how hard it was to be alone in this world and how difficult it is to be a fugitive on the run from the Fire Nation."

Zuko's eyes lifted to his once more, his expression unreadable.

"I was bloodied. Broken, too," he confessed. "I'd have been captured that day and hauled back to the palace for execution or imprisonment if it weren't for Katara's intervention. I was tired. I'd had enough of the cold. My Fire was going out."

Iroh nodded his understanding, a sad smile pulling at his lips before he glanced toward Katara where she continued bending in the river. She'd melted the ice once more, heedless of the cold as she created waves and surfed as though she were at the beach, oblivious to their painful discussion. She was smiling and revelling in her element, full of life and power and happiness despite being separated from her family, robbed of her mother, and hurled into the heart of the war.

"I feared you would lose that Fire, my nephew," Iroh murmured, looking back at him. "Imagine my surprise when instead I found you not alone and covered in the blood of our enemies, but instead in the arms of a pretty girl – a Waterbender, no less. Imagine my shock at seeing you alight and glowing like the sun at midday, glittering like dragon-fire, rather than surrounded by darkness as you had been since your banishment."

Zuko's mouth pulled up at one side, a crooked, half-smile.

"Imagine my fear," Iroh went on. "To see you once again repeating my mistakes, only in reverse. You'd fallen into darkness and rage and hate, as surely as I had done. And there you were, falling into the arms of a pretty non-Fire Nation girl who could break your heart and rip what's left of your Fire right from your chest to burn the whole world."

"And yet you're warning me away from her," Zuko pointed out, glancing toward Katara too.

"I am," Iroh confessed. "Knowing what you now know of my past, I wonder how you see her, nephew. When you look at that pretty girl, what do you see?"

Zuko turned to face Katara fully, Iroh's hand falling from his cheek as the boy critically eyed the pretty young woman. He was quiet as he watched her, and Iroh watched her too. When he looked at Katara, Iroh saw both a blessing and a terrible weapon. He saw both the key to Zuko's success and the key to his undoing. He saw danger and he saw pain that he didn't want his nephew to feel, but he also saw happiness and kindness and friendship and love. He could see hope just as surely as he saw despair.

He waited in silence for Zuko to tell him what he saw, a little smile pulling at his mouth when Katara attempted to make some kind of water scooter for herself, the likes of which Iroh had seen the Avatar make out of air on occasion. She attempted to leap up and sit on the rapidly spinning ball of water and she was immediately flung away, bellyflopping into the river with a slap. She came up spluttering and coughing, her lopsided hair plastered to her face and her eyes narrowed in annoyance with herself for not getting the trick on the first go.

Zuko's huff of amusement was barely audible, but Iroh heard it and he waited on tenterhooks for Zuko's answer.

"I see the moon," the boy said finally.

"The moon?" Iroh asked, his brow furrowing.

Zuko nodded. "Something sweet and seemingly innocuous with extraordinary power that can hurl the whole world into chaos. At the North Pole when Zhao murdered the moon spirit, it threw the ocean into a furious frenzy. She has both the power to control the ocean, and to soothe it. She is powerful and if she chose she could turn on the world with devastating effect, Uncle. She's beautiful and bright and always there, ever changing yet constant. She's the light that keeps the darkness at bay even after the sun has set."

Iroh nodded thoughtfully, eyeing the girl a moment longer before glancing sideways at his nephew. His eyes were still fixed on Katara and his brow was furrowed, his amusement at her antics fading away the longer he looked.

"But if she's the moon," Zuko whispered. "And it's my duty to be the sun, then I suppose I have my answer. Forever linked, but destined to chase each other across the sky, far apart for the good of the world."

Iroh's lips twitched.

"Perhaps that's true," he agreed. "But do not forget, my nephew, sometimes the sun and the moon come together, passing one another amid their endless dance. And when they do the sight is so glorious that the whole world stops to watch."

With a gentle pat to the boy's shoulder, Iroh rose to his feet, shuffling away intent on returning to bed and leaving Zuko to the night and his thoughts while the blissfully unaware Waterbender took another swan dive under the water as she flew off her water-scooter once more.


	20. Chapter 20

**A/N:** **OMG you guys, this fic just cleared a thousand reviews and I'm super stoked. I love you all for being so forthcoming with your feedback. I couldn't let you hang too long after that last chapter, so, without further ado, I present to you Chapter 20... Agni, I can't wait to see your reactions...**

 **xx-Kitten.**

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 **Brightest Nights or Darkest Days**

 _By Kittenshift17_

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 **CHAPTER TWENTY**

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CHAPTER TWENTY

Zuko sat in the dark, bathed in moonlight as he watched Katara come up for air again, cursing this time, while his uncle's words rang inside his head. For days he'd been conflicted over his growing interest in Katara. All day spent aboard the Rhinos and all night curled in his sleeping bag with her pressed against him, he didn't have a lot of time to think of anything else. She was always there, constant, both warm and cool at once, sweet relief and blistering irritation all at the same time.

She drove him mad. Half his time in her presence was spent thinking of the best way to keep her from talking, and even plotting her demise. The other half was spent wanting to crawl inside her skin and bury himself inside her until he would never be free. Zuko had never known anyone so infuriating or endearing and he'd been aware of his growing intrigue the longer he spent with her. He'd been certain that his uncle would tell him it was just the result of so long spent without friends or female company – the result of being in close quarters with a pretty girl. Natural, but fleeting. He'd almost hoped his uncle would tell him to let things run their natural course, destined to rise and glitter as brilliantly as the sun, but to sink and set as surely as night would come.

He'd expected his uncle to tell him that affection was fleeting. That feelings like this were rare and ought to be savoured, because all too soon they would be gone. He hadn't expected to be warned away, or shown all the reasons that she could be both a boon and a bane upon his life. Zuko hadn't expected his uncle to think that he might care for the Waterbender enough to warrant a discussion about the Fire Nations likelihood to accept a Waterbender as the next in line for the throne. He hadn't even thought of marriage or children – more than to fleetingly worry that such mistakes as children were a potential risk should he fuck the little waterbender until he couldn't move, anyway.

He certainly hadn't expected his uncle to open up about the wife he'd lost and the way it had affected him. Zuko watched Katara with different eyes, now. He hadn't really thought of her in the sense of being something he could lose. He'd been thinking about the fact that he'd grown used to her and even maybe decided he was her friend, and he'd been pondering the likelihood of suffering when he had to return to the nest of rat-vipers he called home for the sake of his crown, but he hadn't really thought of her as something he'd be devastated to lose. As he watched her give up on her water-scooter in favour of pretending to be an octopus again, Zuko realised with a small jolt that he _would_ be thoroughly put out if someone tried to take her from him.

She might not be his girlfriend, but she was his friend and he felt strangely possessive and protective of her. The idea of anyone hurting her or disowning her or shaming her because she was his friend and because she'd been kissing him made his blood boil and Zuko understood with sharp and stabbing clarity just what Uncle had meant about setting the world ablaze for taking her from him.

She was his, plain and simple.

His friend. His Reiki Kizuna. His Water Bender. And if anyone tried to take her from him, Zuko was going to show them just was a spoiled and petulant, spiteful little prince he could be. He was going to introduce them to the full power of his Firebending and his swords, too. But even as he had the thought, he circled back to what he'd said to his uncle.

She was his, but she could never _be_ his.

They were destined for different lives. His job was to repair his Nation, clean-house in the Fire Court and cleanse the world of the war his people had waged upon it for one hundred years. Hers was to rebuild her own Nation, her tribe obviously in desperate need of her bending and her wisdom and the example she could set for why women were just as capable as men when it came to being warriors and protecting themselves and their loved ones.

He might be able to imagine Katara keeping an ice-hut and raising a horde of children with alarming ease, but he'd _witnessed_ her fighting for her loved ones and her Tribe. She'd fought him, and though he wasn't conceited, Zuko knew that was no small feat. She met him head on, rising to his challenge every time and just as he had grown, so had she. She could hold her own against him, when so few could, and Zuko wasn't stupid enough not to recognise what an amazing achievement that was.

Zuko wanted her, he realised as he watched her sling her long brown hair over one shoulder and begin to wring it out, letting her octopus tentacles drop back to the surface of the river and run away. He wanted to keep her. Forever. And he wouldn't be able to. His uncle was right. She might be a blessing and a delight, but she was also a distraction and something to be used against him. If he ever took her to the Fire Court they would roast her alive just to hurt him and Zuko knew that his fury would be far more devastating than his uncle's because he would indiscriminately turn upon his own people if they ever hurt her. Unlike Uncle, Zuko hadn't been raised in Court and taught that his Nation should come before all.

No, he'd been banished from his home, disowned by his father and tormented by his sister. He'd been abandoned by his mother and he'd had to make his way in the world with only his Uncle to help him. He had little loyalty to his Nation and less to his father. He wouldn't hesitate to protect Katara over his own people and if he'd been thinking clearly, Zuko might've realised what a dangerous game he was playing. But he wasn't thinking clearly. No, he was thinking about the fact that they would be in Ba Sing Se in under a week.

He was thinking about the fact that her brother and the Avatar might already be there, just waiting to pull her away from him and to remind her of what a monster he'd been. They'd be there to take her away and he might never get to find out what Uncle meant about them coming together with a glory the world would stop to see. She would be with them and he would be pulled away, back to Court, back to a life of duty and honour and free of Waterbenders who made him laugh and stole his food and snuggled into his arms late at night.

Sliding off the rock where he'd sat watching her, Zuko crossed the clearing to stand at the edge of the river. He stopped beside her pile of clothing where she'd obviously stripped down to just her sarashi wraps and his lips twitched as he pulled on the drawstrings of his sleep pants and pulled his tunic off over his head. He stepped out of them in just his underwear and waded quietly into the water, listening to Katara as she hummed softly, that same Water Tribe song she'd sung for him before Meng and Kuzon had showed up.

"Did I wake you?" she asked without looking at him, obviously feeling him moving through the water when her bending power was so alive beneath the full moon.

"No," Zuko answered. "Though the sleeping bag was cold without you."

He saw her smile even though she was peering at something across the river, squinting in the moonlight.

"Do you see it?" she whispered when he drew level with her in the stream, his body warm despite the icy water.

Zuko squinted in the direction she was looking and he froze when he spotted the giant badger-mole that had tunnelled out a nearby hill in search of a drink. It moved slowly toward the water, blind and obviously following it's nose. It shifted the snow on the grass and the earth all around it as it moved, somehow silent despite its size.

They both stayed quiet as the shy creature took its drink from the river before turning away and burrowing into the earth once more.

"I'd wondered how the other animals might be faring in this weather," Katara murmured thoughtfully, "but it looks like the only ones truly suffering at the Fire Nation people."

"I wouldn't call it suffering," Zuko replied just as quietly.

She glanced up at him, a little frown marring her brow and Zuko met her gaze steadily. She didn't smile and neither did he. She simply regarded him curiously, and Zuko knew that his intensity was confusing her.

"We should reach Ba Sing Se this week," she said quietly, nibbling her lower lip and seeming unaware of the way she took a step toward him in the water, bringing herself closer as though she'd grown as used to being inside his personal space as he'd grown used to pulling her close until he was inside hers.

Zuko didn't know if it was the result of their spirit bond, pushing them to feel one another's chi brushing together with a subtle touch of fingers or knees. He only knew that if she was close by and he couldn't touch her, he got annoyed.

"We'll need to blend in," he nodded in agreement with her statement. "Uncle plans to try getting a job in a tea-shop."

She laughed suddenly.

"Prince Zuko playing waiter to grumpy customers?" she laughed. "Oh, I'd pay to see that."

"I know how to hand out cups of tea," he said, frowning.

"Yes, but generally customer service is supposed to be delivered with a smile," Katara chuckled. "You have to be nice to whiny people who never use their manners and always have something to complain about, and you've got to do it all with a big smile on your face. I give you an hour before you dump tea over someone's head and slam their faces into the table."

"I'm not without restraint, you know," Zuko said dryly, lifting his good eyebrow in challenge. "You don't get to be a prince without learning how to smile politely into the face of rat-vipers who want your crown, your approval, or your money."

"Customers don't want your money, Zuko," she laughed. "They want your obedience. The one thing you've been trained all your life is not yours to give, but to demand."

Zuko frowned at her.

"Well, maybe you'll just have to help me be nice to people," he said.

She rolled her eyes. "I'm not a miracle worker."

Zuko reached for her under the water, pinching her arm. She narrowed her eyes and pinched back.

"I'm not above dunking you, Water Bender," he threatened.

"Oh, please," she rolled her eyes. "It's a full moon and we're in the river. You're at my mercy."

"Never," he shook his head.

"Care to spar and find out?" she challenged, looking only too keen to fight with him and wear off some of the energy that the full moon infused her with.

"I'd hate to burst your bubble about being able to actually defeat me, even with the full moon to help you out," he smirked.

She water-whipped him, quick as lightning, but Zuko didn't respond. He knew he didn't stand a chance against her under the full moon. Especially not when he was in the river.

She didn't seem to be expecting it when his hand shot out, fisting her damp long hair and pulling her to him. Her eyes widened slightly as she collided with his chest, no match for him physically, full moon or not. She didn't voice a protest when his free hand slid over her bare hip under the water, smoothing around to rest on her lower back. He pressed her to him firmly, knowing that despite the cold water, she'd be able to feel the fire in his blood. Her chi rushed against his, powerful and positively crackling tonight and Zuko's lips twitched when he held her there, his mouth poised over hers, not quite touching.

Her breath hitched and her fingers trailed over his sides and up his chest, seeking purchase where she'd ordinarily have had a shirt to tug him around by.

"You realise that when we reach Ba Sing Se, everything will change, don't you?" he asked, his voice husky as he held her gaze intently, letting her squirm, knowing she wanted him to kiss her and revelling in the way she twitched.

She nodded her head, a frown pulling at her lips.

"You know it won't be long before I'll be gone," he went on, a strange feeling coursing through him, some fizzy concoction of desire and pain and attraction and urgency all at once. He felt like he _needed_ her. Like he had to have her, just once, in all their glory.

He felt like tonight needed to be one of those moment when their endless dance crossed close, a glorious sight to behold should anyone see them glow together, but something secret here where no one would see and no one would know. No one but the two of them.

"I don't want you to go," she admitted, frowning even more, her hands tracing up the ridges of his abdomen until her palms rested against his chest. Zuko wondered if she could feel the hammering beat of his heart inside it, battering against his ribs and thumping out an uneven rhythm. Her chi raced over his, tingling and teasing, feeling entirely too good.

Something inside him flipped and twisted at her admission and Zuko almost caved, wanting to claim her lips with his own. It wasn't safe, he knew. It was the full moon and her power was brimming and bubbling like boiled water in a pot, just waiting to spill over and drench him. Zuko realised he wanted it. He wanted to feel all that power surging through her. He wanted to watch her glow like the moon overhead.

"I want to take you with me," he admitted in reply, his voice a rasp as his breath changed with the restraint it took not to claim her right then.

"You know you can't," she whispered, looking forlorn.

He nodded. "They'll kill you, or use you to control me. I might not see you again for months. Maybe even for years."

"We need to take Ozai down before the comet comes," she disagreed, knowing as well as he did that it was only a few short months away.

"We do," he agreed. "But no one said we'd be together for the fighting. Or after it. You've got a Tribe to rebuild and I've got a Nation to pull back from war while they fight me tooth and nail for the right to continue fighting until the Fire Nation conquers the world."

She seemed to shrink in his hold as he said so. Maybe she'd hadn't thought of it that way. Zuko didn't blame her. He'd known on some level that there would be a time they would all have to part ways and rebuild their Nations and their lives. He'd known his role as Fire Lord would put restraints upon his time and his freedom. But he hadn't really thought about how much work would go into it or how it might keep him from his other interests.

"I…" Katara's frown deepened and her eyes grew sad as she stared up at him. "I might not see you for years. This… might be all we get."

Zuko nodded.

"But… we're Spirit Bound," she reminded him. "Even if we're apart, you'll still know, and I'll still know. The link will still be there… and I'll bet it'll ache."

His mouth twisted, suspecting that might be true, too. He didn't know when he'd grown fond enough of the little Waterbender to think that being away from her would ache, but it was true and he was dreading it.

"You'll put your village back together and your father will arrange your marriage to some Northern Water Tribe guy to repopulate the world with Southern Waterbenders," Zuko said quietly, hating the pain the thought seared through his chest.

"You'll have advisors and councilman breathing down your neck about marrying for political alliance, expected to sire the next generation of royal Firebenders," she said in return, similarly frowning.

She closed her eyes then, as though the very thought pained her too much for words. Zuko knew the feeling. He didn't like it, either.

"This is it," she whispered. "The deep breath before the plunge. We've been so set on reaching Ba Sing Se and finding Aang that I'd forgotten what comes after. After the fight. After the comet. After the war. I thought…. I thought we'd be there together for the fight… and then, after…."

She kept her eyes closed, but he watched so intently and the moon was so bright, that he caught the glitter of the tears that slipped free to trickle down her cheeks.

"You promised you'd come penguin sledding with me," she choked out in a whisper and Zuko's lips twitched at the reminder.

"I'll keep my promise," he said in return and Katara blinked open her eyes, looking pained and worried and confused and torn all at once. Zuko understood the feeling. He was caught somewhere between knowing they were doomed to grow apart, and the confusion of knowing that just five weeks ago, they'd been bitter enemies.

He didn't know if he loved her. He didn't believe he truly knew what love was, but he felt _something_ for her that made his chest ache at the idea of losing her. He'd never had any real friends, so he didn't know if this was how people felt about their friends or if this was more than friendship and more than the attraction that so often flared between them at times like this, in the dark of the night when they were alone.

He knew they were teetering on the edge of something here and he knew that tipping either way spelled pain. If they tipped left he was going to fuck her right there in the river and he'd likely spend the rest of his life wanting to do it again, and likely never getting the chance. If they toppled right, he'd have to let her go and risk never knowing if he could love her and if it was worth it, and what he was missing. Either way he was doomed to return to the Fire Nation capitol alone where his marriage would one day be arranged to a girl like Mai.

Zuko realised when the thought sickened him that he felt more than friendship for Katara. He didn't want Mai, though for a long time she'd been the girl he'd thought of at night. He didn't want some sardonic, spoiled brat of a woman who would nag him and whine and find every negative thing to point out and to bitch about. He wanted the girl who teased him and stole his food and smelled good when he held her at night. He wanted the woman unafraid to call him a jerk to his face and only too willing to back it up with more sharp words or a good fight if he took offence.

"Zuko," Katara breathed, her eyes darting between his own before lowering to rest upon his lips.

Zuko tried to resist. He tried to topple them to the right of this blade. He tried to remind himself that a taste of perfection might spoil him forever and he tried to keep his head and use his brain rather than his dick to make his decisions.

He tried, and he failed.

If he was going to lose her and he was going to ache over it, he was going to damn well scream with the agony of knowing exactly what he'd lost. Ducking his head, he captured her lips in a soft, insistent kiss. She tasted of river water, but she was warm and firm and soft all at once and she whimpered into his mouth when he traced his tongue against the seam of her lips until she parted them for him. Her nails scratched gently against his chest, trying to pull him closer, wanting more and Zuko lost himself in the sweep of his tongue against hers and the feel of her supple body moulding against his firm one.

The frigid kiss of the water all around him dimmed, his body heat spiking with how badly he wanted her, and Zuko nipped her lower lip hungrily, trailing his fingers over her skin and swallowing the little morsel of sound that escaped her. Part of him dreaded the moment he expected was coming, knowing the likelihood that he would get to have her, to fuck her right there and then, was low. The universe had conspired against him so far, something always happening to ensure they couldn't do more than get hot and bothered before being interrupted or distracted by more pressing matters and Zuko almost didn't want to try his luck again now, not sure he'd cope if he got close enough to claim her only to have her slip through his fingers one more time.

He tensed when she trailed her fingers up and down his back, unable to fight the urge to grind himself against her. When she lifted her legs to wrap them around his hips Zuko bit back a moan of loathing the idea that his Uncle, or Kuzon or Meng might hear and think him in pain, rather than a few cloth layers from sinking deep into bliss. Katara rolled her hips against the hot and throbbing length of him and Zuko's eyes crossed behind closed lids, their movement shifting from tentatively insistent to urgent and hungry in the space of a few seconds.

Agni, he wanted her.

Before now, he'd thought he knew what it was to crave the soft, tight welcome of a willing girl under him, but he'd only known a shadow of that need. Now, with her chi rushing all around him, twisting and teasing, intertwining and fizzing like some out-of-control river seeking to find every flicker of his fire and engulf it whilst simultaneously feeding it made him twitch with need. Without conscious thought he found himself making his way out of the river, heedless of their damp flesh or the cool breeze that blew or even the snow that lay upon the ground at its banks.

She didn't stop kissing him, gripping him tighter, clinging to him needily and Zuko almost lost his balance more than once on the slippery river edge. He nearly toppled over when she pulled back from his lips to trail a burning line of kisses along the length of his jaw before kissing and nipping her way down the side of his neck and she huffed out a breath of surprise when he dropped to his knees before laying her down on the cold ground by the river-edge.

The snow melted around them with her bending power to make things more comfortable and when he breathed out a sigh of pleasure as she nibbled his ear, the temperature surrounding them rose by several degrees. Looming over her, Zuko tugged at the sodden ends of her sarashi, aching to get her free of them and his smirked just a little when she used her bending to pull the water from the cloth, drying his underwear in frustration when she couldn't work the tie loose while it was swollen and wet. She wriggled in her wraps, shivering slightly when he managed to unwind her enough to free her breasts and Zuko pushed warmth through his cold fingers before laying his hands upon the cinnamon globes.

The soft, breathy sound she emitted sent heat racing down his abdomen and Zuko groaned into her mouth when she suddenly pulled him down until he was pressed on top of her, capturing his lips and kissing him hungrily.

"Agni, Katara," he muttered when she broke the kiss several torturous minutes later. She hummed a soft sound of pleasure as his fingers toyed with her nipples, pinching them and rolling them in a way that made her arch into the touch.

She gripped his shoulders tightly, rocking herself against him and Zuko couldn't resist pushing at her just a little with his chi as he rocked back. Her eyelids fluttered before her bright blue eyes opened, gleaming in the moonlight and making her look like something out of a legend. She pushed back with her chi, making him shiver. She was reaching for him, intent on getting him naked, when suddenly her eyes darted to something beyond him and Zuko tensed as her grip on his shoulders shifted from needy to something else.

Zuko grunted when she flipped him off her suddenly, rolling him across the grass and straddling him before leaping to her feet, her eyes on the sky.

"APPA!" she shouted, snatching up her shirt from their pile of discarded clothing and pulling it on over her head.

"Hey!" Zuko complained, frowning at finding himself on the cold hard ground.

She ignored him, shouting again.

"AANG! SOKKA!" Katara yelled into the night and Zuko's eyes lifted to the sky where she looked, waving her arms like a fool.

There, drifting across the moon with some speed was a dark shape. Zuko had spent enough time watching the sky for that very shape to recognise the Avatar's sky bison and he felt a strange twist in the pit of his stomach at the idea that the Avatar was here. He laughed coldly at himself as his gaze darted between Katara – waving her arms and shouting excitedly, heedless of the sleeping companions – and back to the sky bison flying overhead. Five years he'd searched for the Avatar and right this second the _last_ thing he'd wanted was to find the stupid kid.

What he wanted was his Waterbender. Naked. Writhing under him with all that fizzing intensity as their chi clashed and interlocked and twisted together with the explosiveness that only fire and water combined seemed able to produce. He wanted to be finding out just how much of her body heat he could claim, and how much he might stoke the embers of her passion until she became a raging inferno.

Growling to himself about the wretched Avatar, Zuko snatched up his sleep pants and pulled them on, watching the way the flying shape overhead seemed to shift course slightly. He expected them to stop. Surely they'd been searching for her. But when the bison kept flying, Katara slowly stopped her waving, a terrible sadness and pain coming into her voice as she trailed her dashing run to a stumbling sort of walk.

Zuko watched her for a moment, looking back to the sky and seeing the bison disappearing against the blackness, flying away into the dark. He knew that they hadn't even heard her, let alone ignored her. If he'd learned anything during his hunt for the Avatar it was that Aang, Sokka and Katara were loyal to one another and would never spitefully or maliciously leave each other behind. Not like Azula would. Zuko had grown up in a vastly different world to that of the waterbender and as he watched her shoulders slump and begin to shake, undoubtedly with soft sobs, he knew she couldn't tell the difference right then between spite and plain ignorance.

Her shouting might've roused Kuzon and Meng – both of them hurrying out of the igloo carrying weapons, looking half-asleep but ready to fight – and it might've stirred his Uncle, who followed at a more sedate pace and looked up to the sky keenly, but the Avatar, her brother, and the bison clearly hadn't heard her.

"Oh, Katara," Meng said, dropping the club she carried and hurrying over to the waterbender just as the girl fell to her knees.

Zuko stood frozen as he watched the scene. A cold sense of disappointment washed through him and he realised at that moment that everything he'd said in the river was true. Things were about to change. He'd grown used to her, he realised. He'd even admit to being comfortable with her. She was familiar to him now – how could she not be when he spent all night, every night curled around her in a shared sleeping bag, and all day pressed against her in the saddle aboard their rhino? But as he watched Meng gather the saddened girl into her arms, murmuring assurances that they would catch up and that she'd be with her friends soon, Zuko realised that she was far from being _his_ waterbnder.

She'd been the Avatar's first. She belonged to her tribe and her brother and her quest to help the Avatar. She'd only snuggled up to him in the first place to find a way back to them. Zuko felt like he'd had a bucket of ice-water dumped over his head, an uncomfortable sensation in his chest making him aware that he'd fallen for their ruse – he'd fallen for the charade of her being his girlfriend. She wasn't, and she never would be. No matter all they'd been about to do and all they'd already done, the girl was just some Water Tribe peasant trying to get back to her friends and her family, trying to end the war, trying to make sure that Zuko's father didn't wipe out every non-Firebender in existence.

It wasn't a betrayal, exactly, but it felt like one. He'd counted her as his friend. His companion. His ally. His partner in crime. He'd forgotten that the minute she was back with her brother and the Avatar, she wouldn't be so willing to crawl into his sleeping bag beside him to share her body heat. He knew her well enough by now to know that she wouldn't maliciously turn on him when she was reunited with her own, but she would put some distance between them.

And how could she not? He had to betray them, return to the palace and reclaim his birthright. She had to stick by the Avatar and work with the Resistance to end the war. They had different destinies and no amount of intertwining chi or even a Reiki Kizuna was going to change that.

Zuko watched her wipe her eyes, looking forlornly in the direction the bison had flown, before she sighed and let Meng lead her back into the igloo. His uncle quietly suggested they all have a nice cup of tea to calm their nerves and Zuko watched them dispassionately.

He almost startled when Kuzon walked over to him, scooping up the remainder of Katara's clothes that she'd shed by the riverside and reaching to hand them to Zuko.

"Interrupted again, your highness?" he asked quietly, no trace of a taunt in his tone. Kuzon sounded almost dire as he spoke the question, frowning as deeply as Zuko did himself.

"It's for the best," Zuko said.

"She never was your girlfriend, was she?" Kuzon asked. "It's all just been a ruse."

Zuko shrugged his shoulders, unwilling to speak on it. Out of the corner of his eyes he watched Kuzon frown harder, opening his mouth like he might ask why they'd lied or how they'd made it look so real. Zuko's tightening brow warned against it and Kuzon thought better of his question. Zuko didn't even want to think about the answer because he knew the reason they'd looked so convincing was because they'd begun subconsciously thinking of one another as such.

Zuko turned away from Kuzon and from the hut, looking out across the river and watching the way the subtle ripples distorted the image of the moon reflected on its surface. He frowned. It would be best to start pulling back from Katara, he decided. They would be in Ba Sing Se before the week was out – especially now that they had the drive of knowing the Avatar was there. Soon enough he would need to focus on training the Avatar to Firebend and then he'd need to find a way to make it look like he'd killed the kid in order to return home a war hero.

He didn't need the drama of fighting with her brother about his intentions or anything else. He didn't need to unpleasant side-effects of prolonging their strangely affectionate interactions. He needed to reclaim his throne and he needed to put an end to his father's rule. He'd do it without the pretty waterbender worming her way under his skin, into his heart. He'd do it without her in his bed, too.

"It would be a mistake," Kuzon's voice intruded softly on his musing, "to think that just because she's excited to reunite with her family and her friend, she mustn't want you. You've spent five weeks in our company, Prince Zuko, and until tonight I never doubted that the two of you were a couple. Honestly, I'd been mentally practicing calling her 'Fire Lady Katara' in preparation for you coronation. Maybe you're not actually dating in an acknowledged and agreed upon union, but you've got _something_ with that Waterbender. Something powerful and dangerous, and something that will either be your greatest strength or your downfall, your highness. Soon enough we'll return home and you'll be parted from her; soon enough you'll need to be on your guard and make sure that your sister and your father never learn just what has passed between you and that Water Tribe girl. Don't ruin what little time you have left with her by pouting or second-guessing your interactions up until now. The only spiteful bone in her body would be yours and we both know you haven't been fucking her."

Zuko gritted his teeth against the words he didn't want to hear, subconsciously noting that Kuzon would one day grow to prove an invaluable asset as his advisor when Zuko claimed his throne. Until then, though, he didn't want to hear about fucking Katara or about her intentions or his own stupidity.

"Go to bed, Kuzon," Zuko told him.

Kuzon sighed, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly for a moment, having learned that while Zuko had been stubborn at five, he was downright obstinate in adulthood.

"If you let this tear what you and her have, you'll regret it until you're older than your uncle, Zuko," Kuzon told him, unable to resist a parting comment. "And I'll spend every opportunity between now and then reminding you of what a stubborn jerk you are until you see reason and reconcile with her."

With that said, Kuzon walked away, returning to the igloo and leaving Zuko to his fury and the darkness and the niggling thought that it had all just been a well-executed deception on Katara's part to soften him to her way of thinking and save her friend from his persistent pursuit to capture him. The idea left a sour taste in his mouth and Zuko's fury mounted until he began pushing himself through his bending forms – the brightly glowing fire that burst from his hands, his feet, and his mouth in spite of the glowing full moon a testament to his rage and his pain.


	21. Chapter 21

**A/N: I'm so pleased so many of you are so invested in the story. This chapter is a bit shorter, after the monsters I've been giving you, but I hope you like it, just the same. I can't wait to see what you make of things.**

 **xx-Kitten**

* * *

 **Brightest Nights or Darkest Days**

 _By Kittenshift17_

* * *

 **CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE**

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Katara was sick to her stomach with the thought of seeing Aang and Sokka again. After so long apart – two long months spent away from them – she was wracked with nerves and with a crushing sense of guilt over all she'd done since parting from them. Sokka was going to be furious when he saw her with Zuko. Worse, she was sick to her stomach with the knowledge of what she'd almost done with Zuko at the river's edge, and wracked with concern over his reaction.

She hadn't meant to throw him off and just cast him aside when she'd seen Appa. It had just been a knee-jerk reaction when she spotted Appa flying overhead to try and call for them. She wanted to see them again, for all her worry over their impending reunion, and she didn't want to be left behind. She'd been away from them so long, and her heart had filled with hope and joy, excitement overcoming her desire and her distraction.

As she sipped the tea Iroh had brewed for the five of them, Katara tried to clear her head. They'd left her behind. They'd flown right on by without pause. She felt sick with her guilt. They must know what she'd been about to do with Zuko – a boy who was very much still the enemy in Sokka and Aang's eyes – and they'd ignored her shouts. She clutched her cup tightly, both hands cupping the hot porcelain to keep them from shaking. Meng sat beside her, rubbing soft circles of comfort on the middle of her back, heedless of the fact that her sarashi binding were undone and lumpy under her shirt, and of her lack of pants.

Iroh watched her too, an expression of kindness and empathy upon his face. Katara knew he understood her sadness and perhaps even her worry. Kuzon entered the igloo slowly, shaking his head to himself and looking mildly annoyed. She got the feeling he'd been arguing with Zuko – who could say more with one look that she herself could utter in a hundred years – and it hadn't gone well. She knew Zuko was angry with her. She'd known from the second he'd uttered his 'hey' of annoyance when she'd rolled him off her.

"Is Zuko joining us?" Iroh asked when Kuzon sat down and accepted a cup of tea without a word.

"I doubt it," Kuzon grunted, folding his arms. "Stubborn jerk."

Katara felt too sick to laugh. Her insides were all twisted up and the nerves began to set in. Nerves about Sokka and Aang. Nerves about entering Ba Sing Se. Nerves about the plan to overthrow Fire Lord Ozai. Most of all, nerves about Zuko's reaction to being tossed off her when they'd been on the brink of having sex. She didn't doubt he was angry. Not that she hadn't had a good reason for stopping.

Katara frowned.

"I'm going to bed," she muttered, draining her tea cup and setting it down by the fire.

"Try to get some sleep," Iroh smiled gently. "It will be a long day tomorrow. If we push hard, we should reach the ferries that will take us across the sea to the gates of Ba Sing Se by nightfall."

Katara's heart faltered in her chest but she nodded, knowing she wouldn't sleep but unable to stand the tense silence. It was bad enough that everyone knew she'd been deserted by her friends and that Zuko was mad at her. That they undoubtedly suspected she'd had sex with him – or almost had sex with him – only made things worse and she didn't want to sit in the silence while they judged her.

Sokka would kill her if he ever found out. Katara felt an uncomfortable twist of shame to wonder what her Dad would say if he knew she'd been sharing a bed with the prince of the Fire Nation – the lordling who would one day rule a people who'd robbed her of her mother. He'd be furious. Or just extremely disappointed. Katara wanted to sob at the thought.

Climbing back into the bedroll she'd shared with Zuko for the past five weeks, Katara bit her lip, eyeing the bedding. She got the feeling he wouldn't want to sleep next to her after tonight. She wasn't even sure she wanted to sleep curled into him, either. She did, because he was warm and he smelled good and he made her feel strangely safe. But she didn't want to, knowing that her family would disown her and her friends would hate her and that he himself would disdain the notion – if he returned to bed at all.

She loathed the idea that things would be awkward and Katara stared at the blankets for a long minute in silence, debating whether she should part their bedding so that she slept in her own sleeping bag by herself, freeing up his for his use should he return, or if she should keep it just as it was, forcing him to confront her and to climb in beside her if he wanted to sleep and be warm. She doubted he would appreciate the second option, but she didn't want to hurt his feelings by prematurely assuming that the first would be preferable.

Katara frowned to herself, annoyed that she knew he'd be angry. He didn't have any right to be angry. Slightly put out, sure. She'd kicked him off her when they'd been all hot and heavy and completely entangled. She'd insulted his skill by not being entirely focused on what he'd been doing to her and even noticing the flying sky bison in the first place. But he had no right to be angry that she'd wanted to get their attention. He had no right to be in a bad mood just because Aang and Sokka mattered to her, too.

Deciding that she wasn't going to let him be angry over it and avoid her because of it, too, Katara huffed and wrapped herself up in both bedrolls, flopping down and grumpily waiting for him to join her. She didn't know what she wanted to say to him. She didn't want to fight and she didn't want to face him after shoving him off her midway through, but she wasn't going to apologise about wanting to see her friends.

"Stupid, jerkbender," Katara muttered, unknowingly channelling Sokka.

She laid there late into the night, waiting for Zuko to return to bed. She could feel the moon beginning it's descent as the sun crept closer to the edge of the horizon and she'd begun to think he might not return before dawn at all until, long after Iroh, Meng and Kuzon had all retired once more, Zuko crept in. I f she hadn't been tense and on edge, waiting for him, she'd never have heard him. He moved so silently that it was only the tingling sense of awareness along her chi that alerted her to his presence when he rounded the wall into their portion of the little igloo she'd made for the night's camping.

She heard him stop and watched him with slitted eyes, feigning sleep, as he glared at her for a long moment. It was dark in the igloo now, the moon disappearing slowly, but she could still make out the fierce scowl of annoyance on his face when he realised she hadn't parted their bedding. He eyed her for a long moment and Katara would swear several emotions flickered across his expression, too fast to register if one didn't know him well and wasn't looking. Annoyance. Anger. Frustration. Calculation. More anger. Confusion. And finally, resignation.

He must be freezing, she thought, watching him carefully peel back the edge of the blankets and begin climbing in next to her. He'd swum in the icy river with her and he'd been out in the cold wind for hours wearing only his sleep pants and his underwear. He was still shirtless and when his arm bumped hers – his movements suggesting a fear of waking her – his arm was like ice. Frowning with concern, Katara waited for him to settle down on his bad beside her. He pulled the covers to his chin, obviously not wanting to touch her, but also unable to get a decent share of the blanket without doing so.

"I thought you might stay out there all night," she said quietly when he laid there glaring at the ceiling, trying to control his breathing.

He twitched, obviously startled but hiding it well.

"You're awake."

Katara rolled her eyes to herself.

"You're freezing," she replied, since they were stating the obvious. "Are you going to be rude to me if I wiggle over and warm you up?"

He gritted his teeth, looking angry, and Katara took that as a yes. She wiggled over just the same, snaking her arm across his abdomen and hissing a little at the chilled flesh. He quivered under her touch and Katara realised he was shivering. As annoyed as she'd talked herself into being with him for being mad at her to begin with, Katara hated the idea that he'd let himself get cold enough to shiver. Burrowing into his side, she pressed herself to him as much as she could.

"Get off," he snapped.

"Store the anger for tomorrow, when you're not shivering and at risk of getting sick, Zuko," Katara retorted. "You have no right to be angry at me for trying to alert my friends to my whereabouts. They're my friends! Sokka is my brother. You're supposed to want to find them as much as I do because having them back and knowing they're safe – that they're alive – will make me happy and because the longer you and Iroh have to teach Aang Firebending, the better. Or did you forget? You need Aang to take down Ozai. Be angry that I wasn't paying full attention to you out there if you want. Be hurt or offended that I shoved you off when I spotted them – needing to at least try to have them notice me. But don't you dare even think about being mean or being a jerk to me because you're jealous or being stupid and thinking that I used you. I didn't. I told you from the beginning that I knew travelling with you might improve my chances of tracking Aang. I also told you that I was with you to see you back on the Fire Nation throne, so if you're pouting because you think I'm going to just run off when we meet up with them, then you've got rocks in your head. And I don't want to hear your arguments about why you're angry at me, or to have you push me away when you're shivering from the cold because you're a stupid, stubborn jerk. You will be snuggled until you're not at risk of dying from the cold and tomorrow you can spit fire at me about your twisted ideas of what just happened out there. Got it?"

She expected him to argue. To call her a bitch or a peasant or to say something to remind her that he was a prince and she, a peasant. She expected him to shove her off or wrestle her free of his sleeping bag so he could sleep away from her. She expected him to throw a royal tantrum.

But he didn't.

He kept his mouth shut and he kept his hands to himself. Other than the slow decrease of his shivers, he gave no further reaction to her touch or to her words.

"You're pouting?" she guessed, frowning at him in the dark, deflating slowly when he didn't respond to her.

He didn't respond other than to slowly sigh out a carefully controlled breath. Katara gritted her teeth, realising that he was giving her what she wanted – no arguments – and that it was actually the last thing she wanted. It made her nervous. Zuko hadn't proved to be a patient or an obendient person in the weeks she'd known him. He was explosive. Angry. Wrathful. Vengeful. Furious. Destructive. Barely restrained, yet perfectly controlled – most of the time. He was strong willed and stubborn and a complete jerk and she had never met anyone who made her so angry. And she'd grown up with Sokka, so that was saying something.

His silence, rather than comforting her and relieving her, had the opposite effect.

"Zuko, say something," she commanded, sitting up and pulling away from him, hugging her knees, feeling like she needed to run from him or she might throw herself at him and beg him to forgive her for something she'd had every right to do – something he should've been happy about.

"Goodnight, Katara," he said finally and Katara glared over her shoulder at him, still sitting up, frustrated now.

He didn't try to pull her back down to lie beside him, even though she was hogging the covers. He didn't argue. He didn't fight. He didn't complain or chastise her for what she'd done. He didn't scoff about how she'd been using him to fill in the time or about how if he'd been just a little bit quicker, she might've been able to add him to her list of regrets. He just laid there with one arm curled behind his head, staring at the ceiling with one knee drawn up.

"That's it?" she asked. "Just goodnight? No complaints? No arguments? No questions? No 'hey, we were kind of in the middle of something'. You're just going to lay there and not speak to me?"

He didn't even tip his head in her direction. She couldn't even tell if he was still angry. He seemed to have snuffed it out like the flames he so easily controlled. He just ignored her. Katara found that was worse. She was prepared for a fight. She was getting better at dealing with his temper. The complete lack of it made her second guess everything. The friendship they'd built; the sex they'd almost just had; his supposed interest in her. She found herself recalling with sudden clarity the way he'd seemed so into it during that first kiss weeks ago when the sun had finally come out. He'd been hot and forceful and he'd made it look and feel like that kiss had been one he'd craved all his life, but when he'd pulled back and spoken he'd been controlled, hateful and mean. He'd been acting.

Had he been acting since then?

"Fine," she snapped when he didn't answer. "Don't talk to me. Ignore me. Cast me aside like the meaningless peasant I surely must be to the esteemed prince of the Fire Nation."

She made sure to sarcastically bite on the word esteemed, letting him know that that both knew he was currently still banished and disgraced, exiled and cast out of his own family. She huffed angrily when even that got no response and Katara wanted to growl like a raging platypus-bear when he didn't make a sound. She threw herself back down, rolling to face away from him and taking the blanket with her, hoping it might get some reaction from him.

It didn't.

Long before dawn broke, Katara of the Southern Water Tribe learned to hate the self-control drilled into every Firebender, and especially into the prince of the Fire Nation. She laid there glaring at the icy wall of the igloo, her body wracked with the ghostly sensation of his hands upon her though he didn't reach for her or move an inch. She relived every moment of their time in the river – her subconscious digging up reasons that he might've been acting, faking it all. She tortured herself with questions of it all just being an act and began to doubt everything.

Had he been simply faking his enthusiasm for staging a coup – helping Aang take down Ozai? Was it a ruse to trick her into convincing Aang to let his guard down just long enough for Zuko to catch him and haul him off to be a Fire Nation prisoner for the rest of his days? Had every kiss she'd shared with Zuko been a lie?

She slept fitfully that night, and her dreams were wracked with terrible flames reaching up to devour her.


	22. Chapter 22

**A/N: *rips her own heart out and throws it at your feet.* I'm sorry. Agni, I'm sorry for this. This was probably the hardest chapter I've ever written.**

 **xx-Kitten.**

* * *

 **Brightest Nights or Darkest Days**

 _By Kittenshift17_

* * *

 **CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO**

* * *

Zuko woke with the dawn and with his arms full of Waterbender. He almost wanted to groan – though in annoyance or yearning, he couldn't decide. He knew his silence during the night had upset her. He knew she was second-guessing everything as surely as he was. He also knew his days of sharing a sleeping bag with her were numbered.

They would reach the ferry that would carry them to Ba Sing Se today, he suspected. By this time tomorrow Katara might be reunited with the Avatar and her brother, leaving no time or inclination to continue tolerating him. He was angry with her, he'd decided. Angry and annoyed. She'd let this happen. She'd come out of nowhere and thrown herself at him for that kiss in the alley and since then she'd done nothing but distract him and manipulate him to a point where he'd considered forgetting his throne and his birthright for the sake of running off to some silly tea-shop and fucking a fistful of kids into her until they were old and had grey hair, and his father's disgust and his sister's treachery meant nothing because he'd build a better family, all his own.

She'd fucked him up and she was going to walk right out of his life and back to the Avatar and her brother and her tribe and the rest of the stupid world. So, Zuko was angry. He'd let her stew, knowing that saying something – _anything_ – might give her cause to continue to trust him, which he wasn't sure he wanted. Groaning into the tangle of her long hair, Zuko thought seriously about jerking back and rolling away from her. He needed to let off some steam and a good long firebending practice would do him good, he was sure.

But he couldn't quite bring himself to do it. She was so warm – filling him with fire and making him feel alive. She was sound asleep now, despite spending most of the night caught up in fitful tossing and turning that had been accompanied by muttering and whimpering as though she were in terrible pain. He didn't like knowing his anger could do that to her, but he also didn't like what she'd done to him in return, so he'd stubbornly refused to wake her to end the nightmare or offer her comfort.

But with her fast asleep, Zuko couldn't resist the feel of cuddling her to him a little more snugly, his arms tightening around her. Her chi was curled against his own, enveloped by his and making him feel warm and content and happy in a way he couldn't recall ever feeling before he'd wound up crammed into the sleeping bag beside her five weeks ago. Zuko sighed again, clenching his teeth and squeezing his eyes closed, willing his body to forget the notions it stirred with as he reached wakefulness. He silently cursed the curvy little Waterbender for feeling so good pressed against him.

He hated her for it because he was convinced that she surely must've just been manipulating him to turn him to the good side. The voice in his head that sounded suspiciously like Uncle insisted that she wasn't the type of girl who would ever manipulate anyone into feeling things just to get her way. That voice reminded him that this wasn't Mai or Azula he was dealing with. This was his Waterbender. She was kind and humble and occasionally sarcastic and sweet in a way he hadn't realised anyone actually _could_ be. She was too innocent and too soft-hearted to ever willingly seek to hurt him lastingly. She would never use him for her own gain the way Azula would.

He knew it, and yet his bitterness was niggling at him. The blue dragon inside his nightmares whispered of treachery and deceit and betrayal. It whispered that he was just a pawn to Katara, and Zuko loathed that part of himself all the more. He loathed that it existed, and he loathed those responsible for its formation.

Shuffling a little against the pretty girl in his arms, Zuko lifted his head far enough to peer over her shoulder, trying to see her face. He felt a strange little twist in his gut when he realised she was smiling contentedly, her cheek pillowed on his arm, her shape spooned by his own. She looked so innocent in sleep, he noticed. Innocent and beautiful and vulnerable. He hated the way it stirred a part of him to protect her. He hated the way the sight of her contented smile made him want to forget his anger with her and let go their awkward interaction of last night. It made him want to slowly wake her up with kisses peppered across her tanned skin and Zuko fought the urge for several long minutes as he watched her before giving in and resting his mouth against her bare shoulder.

She didn't wake as he lightly traced his nose across her skin, breathing in the sweet scent of her, even if she did still smell faintly of river water.

"Zuko," she hummed softly; contentedly.

Zuko froze, his stomach flipping with guilt, not wanting to be caught nuzzling her when he'd been a jerk to her during the night. He held his breath, thinking she must've awoken. When she turned her head in his direction, her eyes were still closed, he realised with a faint hum of amusement that she was dreaming about him.

The very idea warmed him even more than the rising sun did and he pressed another kiss to the top of her shoulder, sighing out the breath he'd been holding and tightening his hold on her even more, wanting to keep her close. He was loathe to let her go, as he knew he soon must, and he realised with a fierce sort of sting that the idea of parting from her was more painful to him than anything he'd endured up until that moment. Even more painful than his burned face, or his banishment. The idea of being parted from this little Water Tribe peasant hurt in a way he couldn't explain and as he watched her sleep, he couldn't help thinking that leaving her was going to be the hardest thing he would ever do.

Harder than taking down his father. Harder than turning traitor to his family. Harder than the time he'd turned his back on Uncle and parted ways with him before the blizzard. Certainly harder than leaving Mai had been.

Maybe Kuzon was right. Maybe he _would_ be a fool to let last night's event ruin what he'd had with her. Even if it _had_ been a ruse on her part to convince him to join the Avatar, rather than trying to capture him anymore, it had worked. He'd fallen for it and he'd made his decision to switch sides. He was still going to train Aang in Firebending. He was still going to return to the Palace to reclaim his birthright, and he was still going to help the Avatar end Ozai's reign of terror.

He'd made his decision last night in the river; he'd planned on claiming her body as surely as he hoped to claim her affection and her attention. If he was going to suffer when he had to part from her, so be it. He didn't want to suffer in the time he had left with her like this. Fugitives travelling together. Friends determined to make the world a better place. Lovers whose kisses ignited his soul. Reiki Kizuna.

If he had to endure the bitterness and the jealousy of thinking she might prefer her brother and her friend over his own company, Zuko would live with that. He wouldn't like it, and he would likely be a surly jerk about it, but he'd put up with it. He wasn't sure how she would treat him when she was reunited with her friends, and if he was honest with himself, Zuko could admit that much of his anger with her last night had stemmed not so much from her throwing him off her when they'd been in the middle of something, or even the way she'd tried to get the attention of her friends. No, it had stemmed from the icy feeling of rejection to realise that the moment she'd spotted them, she'd shoved her off him like she'd been caught with her hand in the cake-tin.

Shaking his head, annoyed with himself for the way the thought irked him all over again, Zuko focused on the girl in his arms. He trailed a line of kisses over the top of her shoulder, nosing her hair aside and kissing his way up the side of her neck. She made a soft sound, though whether in sleep or sudden wakefulness, he didn't know. He was too busy tracing a burning line toward her mouth, intent on waking her with a kiss that might make her forget what a jerk he'd been during the night. Twisting the arm she'd pillowed her head on, Zuko gently turned her head in his direction a little more, pulling back slightly to roll her toward her back, to better reach her lips.

She grizzled, half-waking, and Zuko shook his head fondly, his mouth twitching on a smile at the very idea. When he traced kisses over her cheek before tentatively pressing his lips to hers, she blinked her eyes open slowly. He knew. He was watching her, waiting for her reaction. She blinked sleepily, her mouth pulling into a happy smile at the sight of him looming over her and kissing her, obviously not yet recalling their fight.

Zuko smiled back, dipping to steal another kiss from her lips, this one lingering a little longer, their chi sliding together deliciously. She kissed him back lightly, one of her hands coming up to tangle into the hair at the back of his head and Zuko pushed his luck, licking her lower lip softly, wondering if she'd open for him. She did; her lips parting and her tongue tangling with his. Zuko's fire fizzed in his blood, his body coming fully awake with a resounding roar of need – only too eager to continue what they'd started in the river.

She pulled him down on top of her a little more firmly, rolling further until she was stretched on her back and Zuko loomed over her, kissing her hotly. His whole body was alive with need and the feel of her tongue stroking his own made his eyes cross behind their closed lids. She arched under him slowly, rubbing her chest against his and Zuko broke from her lips, tracing a burning line of kisses along her jaw and down her neck. He grinned at the little mewl of delight that escaped her, her hand in his hair tightening needily.

"I thought you were angry with me?" she breathed when Zuko smoothed his hand across her stomach, slipping it under the hem of her shirt and tracing soft patterns over her silky skin.

"I am," he replied just as quietly.

"Funny way of showing it," Katara muttered, drawing in a sharp gasp when his hand trailed higher, sliding past the sarashi she wore to cup her soft flesh hungrily.

She squeaked when his fingers pinched her nipple, rolling it carefully. Zuko nipped her neck and she mewled again. He claimed her lips once more, pressing down on top of her a little more firmly, and Katara's hands traced over his back, her legs shifting restlessly until she managed to pull him until he was fully on top of her, his hips resting in the cradle hers made and her legs wrapping around him.

Balancing carefully, Zuko began tugging at the hem of her shirt, intent on getting her out of it, wanting to pick up right where they'd left off during the night. When he pulled the garment off over her head, he tossed it to one side. Vaguely he was aware that both his Uncle and Kuzon, as Firebenders, would be as awake with the dawn as surely as he was, and he was dimly aware that they'd likely interrupt any minute to insist they all got going and that they could make it to the ferries by nightfall.

Zuko didn't want to go. The minute he left the sleeping bag, everything would change. He knew that. He knew it and he didn't like it. He didn't want to let his Waterbender go and he didn't want to go to Ba Sing Se. He knew he was properly fucked that she'd so quickly wormed her way under his skin and that he'd prefer to forget his crown and his family and his duty to his Nation. He wanted to stay there in the sleeping bag with her and fuck her until neither of them could move. And when he'd recovered, he wanted to do it all over again and he never wanted to stop. Knowing that leaving the bed meant he'd have to stop, possibly forever, made him reckless.

The same recklessness that had gripped the pair of them in the river swept over him and Zuko groaned into her mouth as her chi rushed over his needily, his hands working to unwind the sarashi wraps from around her. When he'd freed her of the fabric Zuko ducked his head, kissing his way across her now bared chest without stopping to try and get a good look. He'd get a good look when he was spent. Katara's fingers tangled in his hair and Zuko felt the way she trembled when his mouth closed over her right nipple, suckling her flesh and making her arch in pleasure.

His whole body throbbed with need and he rocked his hips against the junction of her thighs, feeling the amount of heat pouring from her body and rushing into his, filling him with fire and need and a yearning so acute, it stung.

"Oh, Zuko," Katara whispered, her eyes closed, her breath coming in sharp little gasps as he tormented her silken flesh.

He laved his tongue over her nipple, licking and nipping the little pebble before releasing one and capturing the other, making her mewl once more. The others would likely hear them, but Zuko was beyond caring. He felt reckless. He felt desperate. He felt like if he didn't take her now, he might never get the chance again and that would surely be the mistake he'd regret for the rest of his life. Shuffling his weight slightly, he worked his fingers into the waistband of her underwear, slowly working them down her legs, intent on getting her naked.

She returned the favour, her breath little more than gasping pants as she unfastened his britches and pushed at them, trying to rid him of them. The nip of the cold morning air was enough to ensure they kept the covers in place, but the heat in his groin and the fire in his blood throbbed and burned with his need.

"Are you sure?" he asked her carefully when he'd managed to kick his pants off, rolling back off her far enough to pull hers down and throwing them aside, too.

She shook her head, biting her lip even as she reached for him. She pulled him back down on top of her and kissed his lips, her skin soft, her body warm and yielding. Zuko's heart was racing inside his chest and he just _knew_ that any second now the Universe would conspire against them to try and keep him from what he wanted. He didn't care. Her brother or the Avatar could walk in on them right that second and he wasn't stopping. His sister could show up and try to kill them and he'd have to tell her to take a number and wait in line until he was good and done.

"You need to be sure," he said seriously, breaking their fervent kiss and pulling back just far enough to speak.

She wrapped her legs around his naked hips once more, sliding slightly against the furs of the bedroll and Zuko hissed in a sharp breath of his own when his throbbing, aching length brushed her core. Fucking hell, she was giving off so much heat he wondered which one of them was the real Firebender.

"Please, Zuko," she whispered against his lips, her blue eyes half-lidded with lust, her ankles locked against the base of his spine, her legs urging him forward, pulling him closer, trying to bring him as close as could be.

Zuko kissed her hard, then. He claimed her lips in a bruising kiss and he shifted slightly, aligning himself at her centre and feeling the warm, wet welcome that awaited him. Agni, he was on fire. His chi was bubbling and fizzing, his power rushing through his blood and his body thrumming with fire and desire and a fierce burn in his chest that he didn't dare acknowledge, let alone name.

A low whimper tore from Katara as he slowly pressed forward, pushing home.

And fuck, she felt like home.

Zuko's head spun and he closed his eyes, breaking their fervent kiss to bury his face in her neck, just knowing that until the day he died he'd never feel heat and warmth and happiness the likes of which he felt right in that moment. The shuddering breath she drew made him think she was crying and he prayed to Agni that they were tears of happiness and not pain or regret because he couldn't catch his breath to look.

Her arms slipped around his neck, pulling him down on top of her more firmly. She tightened her legs around his waist and Zuko groaned when he slid impossibly deeper, every last bit of him completely sheathed inside of her. Like a blade slotted home into its scabbard, everything about being inside of her felt right. It felt good.

It felt like home.

He was in trouble, he realised, blinking open his eyes and having to blink them a second time to chase away the sheen of moisture there. He was in deep trouble because there would be no going back. He'd fucked girls before, but it had never felt like this.

His fizzing, bubbling, simmering chi seemed to suddenly settle, like flame and water perfectly in balance, somehow pressed together without the steam or the explosion their opposing elements often produced. It was like perfect balance. He felt whole. He felt like he couldn't catch his breath but also like he'd taken the very first breath of real air he'd ever drawn.

The little sob that tore from Katara's throat had him lifting his head slowly, pulling back far enough to meet her gaze and he found he'd been right. She was crying. Her eyes were open and when they met his they seemed to say a thousand things she'd never voice. He wondered if his own gaze conveyed as much but before he could ask, she smoothed her hand over his scarred cheek, gently cupping his face and Zuko sighed contently, leaning into her palm and letting her see how at peace he felt in that moment.

She gently pulled him down to claim his lips again and Zuko thought that if he were to die right then, that would be fine and he'd do so with no regrets.

Her tongue brushing against his own drew a reaction from him and Zuko swallowed the whimper she emitted when he withdrew from her slowly before sheathing himself once more. He built to a steady rhythm, feeling the push and pull of her chi against his own and feeling like every withdrawal tugged at a part of him that had left his body and made a home for itself within hers. Every time he returned, it felt like home, and every time he withdrew he felt the most powerful urge to return once more.

He was completely fucked. And for the first time in his life, Zuko didn't care.

Katara's lips were soft and her hands were gentle and he knew without needing to open his eyes or vocalise it that he wasn't just fucking her like he'd fucked the other girls in his past. This was more than that and whether they were Reiki Kizuna and linking their lives together irrevocably or not, he knew this was more than just sensation and effect.

She tested his self-control more than once, her grip on him slowly tightening, her body clenching and her hips rolling into his every thrust. The sound of a soft gasp that didn't belong to her caught his attention when he fought to remain in control just a little bit longer and Zuko gritted his teeth when he glanced toward the edge of the wall that portioned off their sleeping chamber within the igloo.

The shape of his uncle's form could be seen through the ice, though the old man had already turned away so as not to interrupt them, and Zuko couldn't be more thankful had the sky split open, struck his father dead, and granted him his birthright without the need to ever leave Katara's warmth. Oblivious to the vague interruption, Katara broke under him with a low, breathy moan and Zuko's whole body trembled with the effort it took to keep in control just a few seconds longer as he revelled in the sight of her pleasure-wrought expression and the power of her body and her chi and her brilliance.

When her eyes fluttered open at the last second, Zuko would swear he could see flames dancing in the oceans of her eyes and he followed her over the edge with a soft groan, his whole body tensing as he drove into her as deep as he could get, his body trembling and shuddering with the power of his release.

He never broke from her gaze as he went over and she smiled contently, her eyes full of wonder and something he didn't dare name. When his arms trembled and his elbows gave out with the power of his release, she traced a cool hand into his hair, nails scratching softly against his scalp and making him wish they were alone and could remain right there, together, forever.

But it was wishful thinking and no amount of feeling like he'd finally come home could make him forget that he had responsibilities and that all too soon they would have to part ways, however briefly. And he was determined in that moment that any separation between them would be brief.

"Zuko," she murmured quietly, pressing her lips to his forehead adoringly as he tried to catch his breath, his cheek pressed to her chest.

"Katara," he whispered back, having nothing further to say right then, needing nothing more.

They laid there quietly together, each catching their breath and Zuko felt his heart begin to slow until he realised he was probably crushing her. She made a sound of protest when he slowly withdrew from her, rolling off her and onto his back in the bedroll beside her. He didn't even think about it as he looped one arm around her, pulling her into his arms once more and cuddling her to his chest. She burrowed into him, nuzzling her face against his chest, and Zuko glanced at her and smiled gently, feeling better than he could recall feeling since the night weeks ago in that hotel room.

She smiled back at him softly.

"If you're ever angry at me again," she said quietly after a time. "Feel free to express it like this whenever you need to."

Zuko snorted in amusement.

"Did I hurt you?" he asked softly, recalling that the last time he'd been intimate with her, she'd breathed fire and he'd left burns in the shapes of his hands upon her flesh.

"No," she said softly. "Not at all… that didn't feel like what happened in the hotel room."

No, he supposed it hadn't. In the hotel room, he'd been pushing his chi against hers, and she'd been pushing back. This hadn't felt like that. He hadn't tried to push his ability to fire-bend through her. He'd just wanted to revel in her and make her feel good. Closing his eyes briefly, Zuko let his mind drift and simply held her, enjoying the feel of her warm skin pressed to his own.

He felt at peace in that moment. He felt almost like nothing in the world mattered but her and him and whether they'd ever be able to do that again.

But it didn't last.

All too soon his moment of peace ended and the sounds of his uncle making tea and Meng beginning to chatter from beyond their secluded room in the igloo reached his ears. Zuko opened his eyes slowly and his gaze strayed to Katara, watching the way she twisted slightly, propping herself up on one elbow as she regarded him. He regarded her in return and he had a sinking feeling in the pit of the stomach that no matter how good that had felt, they really shouldn't have fucked.

She didn't say anything while she held his gaze and Zuko's brow furrowed slightly when she reached out hesitantly and traced the tip of her index finger around the outline of his lips. She looked sad, he realised, and he knew in that instant that just as he'd found glorious happiness while they'd been joined, she had too. And just as he'd realised that it was going to cause bigger problems and more pain down the line, she'd realised it too.

What had uncle said? That the sun and the moon were destined to chase one another across the sky, meeting ever-so-briefly in moments of brilliant beauty that took away the breath of all who saw before the dance flowed on.

He'd been right.

Zuko didn't know why that bothered him, since Uncle was almost always right, but the idea that they'd eclipsed, meeting fleetingly in their glorious dance before once again beginning to track each other across the sky, made him sad.

"We're not okay, are we?" Katara asked him quietly and more than anything he wished he could say they were.

His lips twisted into an unhappy frown as he slowly sat up and pulled away from her heat, and he answered her as truthfully as possible. He shook his head regretfully as he pulled away completely and rose to his feet, reaching for his clothing as he did so. He couldn't look at her when he gave his reply.

"No," he said. "No, we're not."


	23. Chapter 23

**A/N: This was a little longer coming than expected, but it was painful to write. I hope you like it, and I hope to be back with more very soon. Thanks ever so much for all the reviews and love. You're all too kind and sweet and I adore you.**

 **xx-Kitten**

* * *

 **Brightest Nights or Darkest Days**

 _By Kittenshift17_

* * *

 **CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE**

* * *

Katara's eyes prickled as she watched him finish pulling his shirt over his head before he walked away. She told herself she wasn't going to cry, but it quickly became a lie as the first tear escaped to trickle down her cheek. Wiping at it, annoyed with herself, she squared her shoulders and reached for her discarded clothing. She wasn't going to let this make things more complicated.

He'd been angry at her last night, and he'd had sex with her this morning, and no matter how relieved she was that he was no longer angry, and no matter how thrilled she was about the sex, she couldn't deny that they weren't ok and that things were only going to get harder. She couldn't bring herself to regret having sex with him. Not when it had been so nice and felt so good and had made her tremble with what she no longer doubted was love. But neither could she look past the many obstacles standing in the way of her ever pursuing anything more with Zuko than friendship and this fleeting tryst. They were two different people with two different destinies. Destinies that would lead them far from each other before this war was done and though the idea made her heart clench in her chest and made her want to throw a tantrum the likes of which she hadn't thrown in many long years, there was no denying the truth.

They were doomed to separation when the time came for him to return to the Fire Nation capitol for the sake of regaining his title. There would be little point fighting in the war and bringing down Ozai if Zuko couldn't take his place as the rightful Fire Lord once Ozai fell. The world, Katara imagined, would be far worse off with Azula in charge after Ozai. At least Ozai remained in the capitol and didn't venture into the field himself.

Another tear trickled down her cheek as she stood, using a little of her bending to clean up the mess of their lovemaking before she dressed herself once more. To prolong the need to see Zuko again so soon, no matter how she wanted to fall into his arms and cry and tell him that they'd find a way to make it work and that she never wanted to let him go, Katara stooped and packed up their bedrolls. She stuffed everything back into their packs as best she could and she didn't make eye contact with Meng, Kuzon, Iroh or Zuko as she passed through the main room of their igloo on her way to begin saddling the rough rhinos.

Meng, oblivious to the tension in the air, greet her warmly.

"Morning, Katara," she said, ever upbeat and cheerful.

Katara's lips twisted.

"Hi, Meng," she said, feeling suddenly tired once more. It was barely dawn and she'd been awake for a good long time last night thanks to her bending and her fight with Zuko.

"Are you excited?" Meng asked. "Iroh says that if we make good time today, we should reach the ferry port to begin the crossing into Ba Sing Se."

Katara's heart clenched, hating the idea that so soon she might be ripped from Zuko's side. She was excited to see Aang and Sokka, yes. But she was nervous about it too. She'd changed a lot in the time they'd been parted. She'd fallen for a boy that her brother and her friend still considered to be the enemy.

"Sure, Meng," Katara replied, her voice flat. "Should be great."

Meng paused when Iroh, Zuko and Kuzon all looked over at her, obviously picking up on her morose mood.

"That's the spirit," Meng said, smiling brightly and Katara's left eye twitched before she realised the girl was being purposely dense for the sake of trying to put her in a better mood. Obviously Meng had no idea that it wasn't just the idea of being unheard or ignored by her friends through the night that was bothering her. Then again, the girl often proved more perceptive than she let on, so maybe she thought that Katara and Zuko were still fighting and was trying to offer distractions.

"Why don't you come in and grab some breakfast?" Meng offered. "I made porridge. We need our strength if we're pushing hard to reach the port today. And you had a bad night, so you'll want a boost, I think."

Katara's stomach turned at the thought of food, but the faintest twinge under her bindings reminded her that she'd just had sex and that unless she wanted to have a baby in the middle of a war, she would need to drink her moon tea. Sighing as she finished loading the rhinos with their bedding, Katara nodded and let Meng lead her over to the fireplace.

She didn't look at any of the others as she went about making her moon tea, and she barely touched her porridge, despite the effort Meng had put into it. She wasn't hungry for food. Not with her heart in her stomach, nervous at seeing her friends and torn over what to say to Zuko. She was dreading having to climb up on the rhino with him all day. She didn't think she could stand the idea of touching so much of him again so soon, knowing that she might never touch him so intimately as she'd just done in the furs, ever again.

Katara knew her morose mood was infecting everyone else, even Meng, when they all packed up the rest of their camp in relative silence. She couldn't get a read on Zuko's mood, though he didn't seem completely angry. She supposed he was feeling the same way she did. Regretful that they'd given in to one another when it had turned out to feel so utterly wonderful, and hurt that despite that, they might never be able to do so again. Katara glanced at him when they were packing up the last of the cooking pots, freshly washed and dried after breakfast.

He met her gaze unflinchingly, his golden eyes unreadable as he looked at her. Katara opened her mouth, though she had no idea what to say to bridge the gap that seemed to be widening between them despite how close they'd just been. She closed it again when no words came. She had nothing. She wanted to cry and she wanted to shout and tell him that there was a way to make this all work and that she didn't care what Sokka or Aang thought and that she didn't care what the Fire Nation people might make of their Crown Prince dating a Water Tribe peasant.

But she knew it would make no difference.

Instead, she closed her mouth and she looked down at her hands where they shook, trying to stuff a much-too-large pan into the tiny space left in the top of her pack. Tears of pain and sorrow and frustration slipped free, unbidden, and Katara dropped the pan to press her face into her hands, trying to hide them before Zuko could see.

She felt him come closer. His chi rushed the length of hers as he gently took away the pan and stuffed it into his own pack, and she was sure he was just going to leave her be to cry out her feelings. She wasn't expecting it when he moved her pack aside and pulled her into his arms. Katara buried her head against his chest, her whole body shaking with the power of the sobs that tore free of her and she hated the way her chi and his tangled together so intimately, making her feel so safe when it was all a delusion.

"I'm sorry, Water Bender," Zuko said into her hair, squeezing her tight enough to make her ribs ache. "I didn't mean for this to happen."

Katara hiccupped, trying to find her voice, trying to tell him it wasn't his fault and that they'd find a way. All that came out was a strangely empty-feeling mewl and he squeezed her tighter, crushing her to him and making her want to crawl inside his warmth and never come out.

"Nephew?" Iroh's voice intruded on them a short time later. "It's time to leave."

He spoke so softly, and he sounded so sad, that Katara had a terrible sinking feeling in her stomach that Iroh knew she and Zuko had slept together and made things a hundred times harder for themselves.

"Come on, Water Bender," Zuko whispered, releasing her slowly. "Let's go."

Katara almost smiled that he didn't have more to offer, that he didn't give her words of reassurance that it would all be okay, or that they'd find a way, or that he'd never let her go. She hoped he didn't regret sleeping with her. As much as she was hurting at the idea that being torn from him would now be so much harder, Katara didn't regret it.

"I don't want to lose you," Katara managed when he'd let her go and stepped back, picking up both their packs and heading for the rhinos.

Zuko stopped and turned to look at her. He didn't smile, and Katara would swear she saw his lower lip tremble before his eyes narrowed.

"You won't lose me, Katara," Zuko told her quietly. "We're Reiki Kazuna."

"We're best friends," she pointed out.

His mouth twisted at that, a pained expression.

"You're my Water Bender," he managed hoarsely, his voice tight with emotion he refused to show and Katara wanted to cry even more.

"What do we do?" she asked, trying to figure out how to make everything better.

Zuko shrugged his shoulders helplessly, his eyes hardening in a way that made her think they were prickling with tears he refused to shed.

"You have to go back to the capitol," she said quietly. "And I have to stay and help Aang. But if you have to leave before he has enough time to train, he's still going to need a Fire Bending teacher. Maybe, after your father accepts you as the prince and his rightful heir again, you'll be able to come back."

She hated how hopeful she sounded.

"I have to dismantle the Fire Court from the inside," he reminded her. "And after the war is won, if we win, I have to rebuild my Nation, and you have to rebuild yours. This can't… work…. Katara."

"It can," she said stubbornly and his lips twisted again, this time into a sad and angry little grin that she hadn't seen on him before.

"How?" he asked. "You tell me how, and I'll do it, Water Bender. How do I get to keep my throne and my Nation and my life and my heart all at the same time?"

Katara cried harder when a single tear slipped from his good eye, his voice thick and hoarse with emotion.

"I don't know," she whimpered, shaking her head.

And she didn't. She didn't know how to keep him when the whole world seemed to stand in their way. She had too much to do to save the world and then rebuild it, and so did he. Maybe he'd been right. Maybe this was all they would get.

Katara took in a steadying breath at the thought. If this was all they had left, then she didn't want to ruin it with tears or regrets or pain. She would save those for after he'd gone back to the capitol and she couldn't crawl into his arms at night. It wasn't a solution so much as it was just prolonging the inevitable and perhaps creating more memories to ache over when they were parted, but Katara was determined to enjoy whatever little time she had left with him.

If this was all she'd get, perhaps for the rest of her life, then she wanted to make it memorable, not miserable. Wiping her eyes and her nose on her sleeve, Katara squared her shoulders and closed the distance between them. Reaching for him, she pressed herself to him, pulling him down and kissing him hard on the mouth.

Zuko dropped their packs, his arms curling around her instinctively. Katara threw everything she had into the kiss. She poured her hurt and her love and her misery and her hope and her entire heart into kissing him. She pushed her chi against his with all her might and Zuko pushed back. He kissed her like his life depended on it and Katara felt more tears slipping down her cheeks to mingle with his, his fire rushing through her, and his chi making her heart race.

They kissed until they were breathless, and then they kissed a little longer and Katara resolved that if she had to let him go, it would be with memories so fierce and a love so strong that he'd survive everything the world might throw at him in her absence.


	24. Chapter 24

**A/N: Finally, another chapter appears. I'm so sorry about the long wait, and I desperately hope the wait will be short on the coming chapters. Many thanks to all who take the time to review. You're amazing.**

 **xx-Kitten.**

* * *

 **Brightest Nights or Darkest Days**

 _By Kittenshift17_

* * *

 **CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR**

* * *

"Hold your ground, Twinkle Toes," Toph Bei Fong shouted at Aang whilst hurling rocks at him.

The Airbender made a face of severe annoyance, having already been told more than a hundred times that he was too weak willed and that he'd never be a decent Earthbender if he didn't learn to stubbornly stand his ground and hold his stance and refuse to budge. The blind Earthbender was ruthless and crude and stubborn and Aang just wanted to let his own element rule his heart and his mind. His way had always been to move, to flow around any obstacle in his path, the float with the wind. He wasn't made for struggling to catch enormous rocks with just the strength of his will, alone.

He missed Katara. She was a better and more lenient teacher than Toph. She was kinder, and she didn't say hurtful things that made him feel useless. He needed to find her. He and Sokka had been hunting for weeks, hurrying toward Ba Sing Se in search of her, and there wasn't a single trace of her. He wanted to scream with fury whenever his imagination got the better of him and he started to wonder if she was dead, or if she'd been captured by someone horrible, like Prince Zuko.

He had to find her!

He wanted her back and he wanted to make sure nothing and no one would ever part him from his best friend again. Gritting his teeth, resolving that if anything had hurt Katara, he would destroy it, Aang opened his eyes and brought up his hands in a bending stance, blocking the rocks Toph hurled at his head and snarling under his breath before hurling the stupid rock right back at the little blind girl with all the power of an angry badger-mole.

 **~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~**

The ferry port was and loud, filled with filthy refugees who looked like they'd all seen better days. Zuko found himself reaching for his waterbender protectively as he watched a trained platypus-bear rip apart a cart of cabbages with a furious roar. It was almost nightfall, and everyone was clamouring, trying to get aboard the ferry on the last crossing over before morning.

"Perhaps, it would be wiser to take the next one," Uncle Iroh advised quietly as they watched people pushing and shoving, a few fights breaking out.

"It's not like there won't be another ferry-crossing tomorrow," Katara said. "Why are they all clamouring like that?"

"They're afraid of the raids," Meng spoke up, surprising Zuko when she sounded grim, rather than her usual perky self. "In my village they used to tell stories of how the Fire Nation kept finding and raiding the ferry-ports, blocking those who tried to flee their fire by crawling into the bowels of Ba Sing Se. They all think that if they don't make it on board tonight, they might not see the dawn of tomorrow morning. The Fire Nation might find the port and destroy it before they can be free. They're scared."

Zuko noticed that the Earthbender sounded scared and sad, watching the people of her Nation as they all tried to squeeze past security and get aboard the ferry.

"We'll cross in the morning," Katara said firmly, leaning back a little and pressing herself against Zuko's front.

Zuko nodded, fighting the urge to pick her up and carry her away to somewhere safe. After so long spent in the wilderness, just the five of them, it was something of a shock to his senses to be faced with such a large crowd of people. Especially dirty, rough looking people who would likely stab them for the gold-coins they'd gotten for selling their komodo-rhinos in the Fire Nation colony village they'd passed through early yesterday afternoon.

It had taken them more than a single day to reach the port, and Zuko's body still ached from his exertions with Katara two mornings ago, but he wasn't about to complain. Agni, he'd do it again the minute he got her alone, if she would let him. He knew he shouldn't and he knew that parting ways with her was going to be absolute torture, but he saw no point in prolonging their suffering until such time as he returned to the capitol. It might not be for months, after all. They needed to take down Ozai before the comment at the end of the summer, but that was still a long way off and he didn't want to spend the next who knew how long fighting with Katara and being miserable.

"Over there," he commented, pointing toward a quiet corner that had been emptied thanks to the push to get on the boat. Everyone in the port had gambled their resting place for a chance to board, and Zuko was willing to take advantage.

The five of them made a beeline for the corner, and Zuko knew Uncle would feel better with a few walls at his back to ensure they if they were attacked, it would only be from one direction.

"At least we don't need to set up camp," Meng offered brightly when they reached the spot – closed off from the weather with a sturdy roof overhead.

"I almost miss the ice," Zuko muttered, realising that out in the open like this, they would be forced to take shifts watching to ensure none of these desperate peasants stole their belongings. Not that he currently carried anything with all that much value to him, other than his weapons.

"I could still bend some snow in and make a partial igloo," Katara offered.

"It would melt too quickly, with so many bodies condensed into such an enclosed space. It would drip on us all night and leave puddles everywhere in the morning," Uncle pointed out.

"Not if I maintained it," Katara said.

"It would be unwise to expose yourself for a waterbender, Katara," Zuko told her softly. "You never knew who might be a spy, feeding information back to the Fire Nation for food, or gold, or protection."

He watched her nod thoughtfully, though she frowned a little, clearly not thrilled about the idea of needing to hide her bending. Zuko didn't blame her. He wasn't thrilled about hiding his Firebending, either. But there was nothing for it. If they were found out for Benders, they risked being caught by the Fire Nation soldiers. The only one who might get away with being a Bender was Meng, and even that was a risk.

"Shall we put some dinner on, then?" Meng asked conversationally when they'd set themselves up well enough in the corner, laying down their bedding and creating a make-shift fireplace in the same spot someone else who'd used the spot before them had done.

"I could eat," said Uncle, smoothing a hand over his rounded belly and looking half-starved, despite his size.

It was impossibly difficult, Zuko found, to watch Katara and Meng struggling to make a fire when, in the recent weeks, they'd grown accustomed to using bending to start them. When Katara dropped the spark-rocks for the fourth consecutive time, Zuko reached for them.

"Let me do it," he said quietly, taking the stones and striking them together whilst directing a tiny flame into the piled kindling they'd set up.

"You're going to get us caught," Katara warned him quietly. "But thank you, Zuko."

She smoothed her hand over the middle of his back as Zuko pocketed the spark-rocks and stepped aside, letting the girls dive into the task of cooking. Not that he and Kuzon hadn't had their own share of doing the cooking, but it seemed that with so many people around, the girls would prefer to cook and Zuko knew he'd prefer to keep watch to make sure no one got any ideas about stealing their belongings or begging them for food. He knew that if anyone dared approach and ask, Uncle would be kind and offer them something to eat, and they simply couldn't afford to do that when so many hungry mouths would be drawn by the handout, hoping for some charity, too.

The silence amongst them was tense and heavy; even Meng managed to still her tongue as they warily cooked their dinner and prepared to spend the night waiting of the dawn ferry. Zuko eyed a number of characters who looked their way like they were thinking about trying something and he noticed Kuzon doing the same. Uncle sat by the fire, similarly looking around but doing a better job of making it look casual.

"It's going to be a long night," Katara muttered, coming over to him a short time later when dinner was hastily thrown together. She handed him a bowl of noddles, and briefly curled herself around his back, resting her cheek against him and curling one arm around his stomach.

"I'll take first watch," Zuko said, looking meaningfully toward Uncle and then Kuzon.

"I'll watch with you," Katara volunteered and Zuko's lips twitched just a bit.

"You need your rest, waterbender," he murmured to her quietly, peering over his shoulder to meet her bright blue eyes. "You get grumpy when you're tired and it's been a long few days."

"You get grumpy, too," she argued.

"I'm always grumpy," Zuko countered.

She laughed a little bit at that.

"True," she conceded. "But I'm still going to sit awake with you."

Zuko shook his head at her, even though he couldn't help smiling in return.

 **~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~**

Princess Azula scowled as they slowly made their way across the Earth Kingdom in their enormous metal drill, intent on taking down the walls of Ba Sing Se. She'd given up on her intent to capture the Avatar or her traitorous brother and uncle, for the time being. There were more important matters at hand, and it seemed logical that she might find one, or both of her targets once she'd conquered the city in the name of the Fire Nation.

The Avatar still needed and Earthbending teacher, and there was nowhere else safe for Zuko and Uncle Iroh to hide. The whole lot of them might very well be hidden away in the city and Azula would eventually flush them out and drag them all back to the palace to face justice.

She would do what Uncle had failed to manage and take the city by force. Their enormous stone walls wouldn't stand a chance against the drill she'd commissioned. Trailing her eyes over the bedchamber she'd picked for herself, Azula sighed boredly, wondering what Mai and Tai Li were up to. Not that she really needed to imagine, she supposed. The sounds coming through the wall partitioning her chamber from Mai's were evidence enough of their activities.

Azula curled her lip. Wouldn't Zuzu be disappointed when he learned that the girl he'd been so in love with at the palace had turned her tastes to that of other women? She almost couldn't wait to rub in that Azula herself had had Mai long before Zuko would ever lay a finger on her. Though, if she had her way, she certainly wasn't ever going to permit that traitorous fool back into the Fire Nation unless he was clapped in chains and destined to be locked away in prison or hung for his crimes.

The throne was hers, and she wouldn't allow that snivelling, angry, traitorous brother of hers to usurp it. Father would never allow it. Azula knew Father hated Zuko, and while she herself would've been willing to tolerate him forever, she was certainly permitted more freedom, and received his title in his absence. Shaking her head to herself and wondering idly how much longer it would be before they reached the city, Azula threw off the covers and rose to her feet. She left her bedchamber and made a beeline for Mai's, unsure whether she merely wanted to interrupt the debauchery taking place within before demanding they entertain her, or if she might just join in herself. Maybe that would tire her out enough that she'd finally be able to get some sleep.


End file.
